^^ 



This work Is dedicated to the memory 
of her who shared the joys and sorrows 
of the author for forty-six years. 




Archibald R. Adamson. 



North Platte 
And Its Associations 



BY 

ARCHIBALD R. ADAMSON. 

Author ol "Rambles Through the Land of Burns," Etc. 



"The days of old to mind I call, 
And often think upon." 

—Old Song. 



THE EVENING TELEGRAPH, 

NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. 






h'^ 



Copyright, 1910, by 
A. E. ADAMSON, 



CCI.A27S560 



PREFACE. 



The purpose of this work is to review the gradu- 
al growth of North Platte, and incidents associated 
with it, with such brevity as will lay the storj^ be- 
fore the reader in a condensed form. Therefore, the 
narrative is restricted to the simplest recital of events 
and modest mention of a few pioneei' citizens, who, 
under unpromising conditions, aided to make North 
Platte the fairest city in western Nebraska. 

Material for a work of this kind is not abundant, 
as feAV stirring incidents arc interwoven witli the 
city's history; so, on this account, the following 
pages contain nothing more than a retrospection that 
will recall events and incidents to the minds of eld- 
erly citizens, and serve as a flash-light on the past, 
which it is hoped a new generation Avill appreciate. 

Of late, death has claimed many old settlers, and 
onlj' a surviA^ng few arc left with whom to consult. 
With two excei)tions, they seemed pleased to be call- 



ed on, and proved reminiscent, and talked with zeal 
of occurrences that took place when Indians and buf- 
falo were numerous and frontier life perilous. Such 
recollections, combined with gleanings from the 
County, City, School and church records have aided 
greatly in tracing the progress of local events, and 
adding interest to the narrative. 

Andrew J. Miller, who was intimately and promi- 
nentl}^ identified with the county and city when they 
were emerging from the primitive, has been resource- 
ful and obliging, and has supplied information that 
will prove interesting. Maj. William Woodhurst, who 
was sheriff of Lincoln County when law and order 
were loosely observed ; has also supplied what will 
engage attention. 

Appreciation of help received from these gentle- 
men, and from Mrs. W. C. Reynolds, Franklin Peale, 
James Belton, James Babbitt, and others, is grateful- 
ly acknowledged. 

THE AUTHOR. 



North Platte 
And Its Associations, 



CHAPTER I. 
INTRODUCTORY. 



Exploration and pioneer settlement of Nebraska. — 
The Mormon invasion. — The gold seekers of 1849. 
— Nebraska becomes a Territory. — The Bill for 
the construction of the U. P. Railroad passed. — • 
Ceremony at breaking ground. — Speeches. — Dur- 
ant calls for a million ties and gets laughed at. — 
First rail laid. — ^Arrival of first locomotives and 
first engineers. — Perils of track laying. — Track 
reaches North Platte. 



Less than a century ago, Nebraska was consid- 
ered to be nothing more than an uninviting wilder- 
ness with few streams, and for the most part con- 
sisting of treeless, waterless plains unfit for cultiva- 

1 



2 NORTH PLATTE AND 

tion, and consequently useless to civilized man. In- 
dian tribes, living in the most primitive manner, oc- 
cupied the region, and vast herds of buffalo roamed 
the trackless waste, living luxuriously upon the with- 
ered-like grass that clothed the barren soil. Deer 
and antelope were numerous, and the Indian, a born 
hunter, lived by the chase in comparative comfort, 
the buffalo supplying his wants; the hide furnishing 
clothing and shelter, the flesh, food, and from the 
bones and intestines he fashioned implements and use- 
ful articles. 

One Coronado, a Spanish cavalier, is credited 
with being the first to explore the region constitut- 
ing Nebraska. He came in 1541 expecting to find 
cities, and silver and gold in abundance, but was dis- 
appointed. Hakluyt, an ancient chronicler, states that 
he came from the southwest accompanied by a large 
body of men, and that "when they came to Quiuira, 
they found Tarrax wiio they sought, an hoarie- 
headed man, naked, and with a Jewell of copper hang- 
ing at his neck, which Avas all his riches. The Span- 
iards seeing the false report of so famous riches, re- 
turned to Tiguex, without seeing either crosse or 
shew of Christianitie ; and thence to Mexico." 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 3 

Two brothers, Perre and Paul Mallet explored the 
valley of the Platte in June, 1739, tracing the river 
as far west as the forks, and Avere followed by other 
adventurers and hunters. 

In 1804, President Jefferson commissioned and 
fitted out an expedition under command of Captain 
Meriweather Lewis, and Lieutenant William Clark, 
*Ho explore an expanse of country shrouded in mys- 
tery," west of the Missouri river. 

In 1819, an exploring and scientific expedition 
headed by Major S. H. Long, penetrated the wilds 
and followed the Platte river to its source. 

In 1842, John Charles Freemont, statesman, sol- 
dier and explorer, accompanied by a party, was com- 
missioned by the government ''to explore and report 
upon the country between the frontiers of Missouri 
and the south pass of the Rocky Mountains, and on 
the line of the Kansas and Great Platte rivers." He 
passed along the Platte valley and has left an in- 
teresting account of the journey. It took a year and 
a half for him to reach Sutter's mill in California, 
and the journey is now made in less than three days 
amidst practically all the comforts of home. Senator 
Benton, so noted for wisdom, declared at the time 



4 NORTH PLATTE AND 

that God himself had set up a barrier to the advance 
of the white man's civilization, and he doubtless be- 
lieved it to be so, but many barriers have been swept 
away, and the unmapped wilderness of his day has 
become the home of several million people. 

Nebraska long continued to be exclusive Indian 
country, but the tide of immigration began to flow 
westward, and its outposts gradually reached the 
banks of the Missour river and white settlers invaded 
the soil of Nebraska. 

In 1844, when the Mormons were compelled to 
leave Illinois, they moved west, and endeavored to 
establish colonies on the Nebraska side of the Mis- 
souri river. The main colony squatted about six 
miles north of where the city of Omaha now stands 
and named the settlement ''"Winter Quarters," and 
in two years the population numbered over ten 
thousand. The requirements of such a concourse of 
people were great, and the slaughter of game and de- 
struction of timber so disturbed the Indians that they 
appealed to the United States Government, and as 
the land was theirs, the Government compelled the 
Mormons to go elsewhere. Many, although indiffer- 
ently equipped, entered upon the perilous journey to 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 5 

an expectant home at Salt Lake, leaving quite a num- 
ber to become settlers and test the adaptability of 
Nebraska soil to cultivation. 

Another item in the colonization of Nebraska is 
the gold panic which seized the people of the East 
in 1849 when it was announced that gold had been 
discovered in California. The valley of the Platte 
being a natural avenue to the mountains, especially 
from the northern states, great number of people ar- 
rived at fords of the Missouri river, and for a time 
they were crowded, there being no available means 
to gain the opposite bank. A shrewd observer named 
"William Brown, seeing an opportunity to make 
money, organized a company, and soon had a ferry 
in operation from Council Bluffs to the Nebraska 
shore. This same gentleman conducted a hotel in 
Council Bluffs, and in 1853 took a claim which nearly 
covered the town site of Omaha as it was afterwards 
laid out; marking its bounderies by blazing trees 
with a hatchet. 

The gold seekers were a diverse crowd composed 
of all classes, making their way across the plains as 
they best could. Some had mules, others ox-teams, 
some rode horse back, and not a few went on foot. 



6 NORTH PLATTE AND 

and being ill prepared, many perished on the long 
weary marches. Not a few gave up the attempt at 
acquiring wealth in such a way and began life as pio- 
neers in the new country, despite the fact that the 
Indians looked upon all settlers as invaders of their 
domain, and harrassed them by thefts of stock and 
pilferings. 

Notwithstanding unfavorable criticism, the wealth 
and pojiulation of Nebraska increased so rapidly that 
it was considered advisable to elevate it to the dignity 
of a territory, and it was so organized, February 2, 
1853. 

Prosperity being assured, a railroad was wished 
for, and it was hoped one would be constructed 
through the valley of the Platte to the Pacific coast 
and open up the new country. The Legislature, and 
every Governor from Gumming to Saunders advocat- 
ed the measure, and it had the support of a major- 
ity of the people, although many laughed at the pro- 
posal, considering the whole scheme wild and vision- 
ary. 

It is needless to go into details regarding the 
passage of the bill for the construction of the Union 
Pacific railroad. Suffice it to say, that after run- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 7 

ning the gauntlet of amendments, postponements, 
and other parliamentary experiences, it was finally 
adopted, and became law, July, 1862, 

On December 2, 1868, Peter A. Dey, the chief en- 
gineer of the proposed road, received a telegram from 
New York, announcing that the President of the 
United States had authorized him to formally break 
ground, and that it had been decided to make Om- 
aha the initial point of the proposed railroad. 

Omaha and Council Bluffs were little more than 
sprawling settlements at the time with no bright 
future before them, but the assurance that a line of 
railway to the Pacific coast would be constructed 
changed the aspect of affairs, and property suddenly 
increased in value, and an excited crowd of would be 
homesteaders besieged the Land Office. Business 
men and leading citizens being hurriedly called togeth- 
er, agreed to appropriately celebrate the event of 
breaking ground, and fixed the hour for the cere- 
mony at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The day was 
pleasant and the sun shone brightly, and at the hour 
named, a crowd of fully 1,000 people assembled and 
marched to the place where ground was to be formal- 
ly broken. Flags fluttered, people cheered, and can- 



8 NORTH PLATTE AND 

non boomed on both sides of the river in honor of 
the event. Every body felt happy, for the day was 
one to be remembered. The exercises were opened 
Avith prayer by the Rev. T. B. Lemon, in which he 
invoked a blessing upon the great work about to be 
inaugurated. Afterwards, the chief engineer, as- 
sisted by Augustus Koutze, of Omaha, George Fran- 
cis Train of New York, Dr. Atchinson, of the West- 
ern Stage Company, and William E. Harvey, Terri- 
torial Auditor, with pick in hand, commenced to 
clear the ground preparatory to removing the first 
shovelful of earth, which was done amid the roar of 
artillery from either shore ^ of the Missouri, and 
shouts of the assembled multitude. These proceed- 
ings were followed by addresses by Governor Saun- 
ders, Mayor Kennedy, A. J. Poppleton, George Fran- 
cis Train and others. 

Mr. Poppelton said in part: ''On the 13th of 
October, 1854, about seven o'clock in the evening, I 
was sent down by the Western Stage Company of 
yonder city of Council Bluffs. At the rising of the 
sun the following morning, I climbed to the summit 
of one of the bluffs which overlook that prosperous 
and enterprising town, and took one long and linger- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 9 

ing look across the Missouri at the beautiful site on 
which one sees in fall vigor of business, social and 
religious life, the youthful but thriving, and this, 
day, jubilant city of Omaha. Early in the day I cross- 
ed the river, and along a narrow path cut by some 
stalwart man through the tall rank prairie grass, I 
wended my way in search of the Postoffice. At length 
I found an old pioneer seated apparently in soli- 
tary rumination upon a piece of hewn timber, and I 
inquired of him for the Postoffice. He replied that 
he was postmaster, and would examine the Postoffice 
for my letters. Thereupon he removed from his 
head a hat, to say the least of it, somewhat veteran 
in appearance, and drew from its cavernous depths 
the coveted letters. On that day the w^olves and Om- 
ahas were the almost undisputed lords of the soil, and 
the entire postal system was conducted in the crowm 
of this venerable hat. Today radiant faces gladden 
our streets, and the postal service sheltered by a 
costly edifice, strikes its Briarean arms towards the 
north, the south, east and west, penetrating regions 
then unexplored and unknown, and bearing the sym- 
bols of values then hidden in the mountains and be- 
neath the streams, of which the w^orld in its wildest 



10 NORTH PLATTE AND 

vagaries had never dreamed. Then it took sixty days 
for New York and California to communicate witli 
each other. Today, San Francisco and New York, 
sitting upon the shores of the oceans, three thou- 
sand miles asunder, holds familiar converse. Iron 
and steam and lightning are daily weaving their des- 
tinies more closely with each other and ours with 
theirs as the interoceanic city whose commerce, trade 
and treasures leave the last great navigable stream 
in their migration from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
sea board. It is natural, therefore, that you should 
lift up your hearts and rejoice. And although we 
have watched for nine long years, during which our 
fortunes have been, like Antonia's treasures, 'mostly 
in expectancy,' we at last press the cup in full frui- 
tion to our lips." 

Mr. Popeleton was followed by Judge Larimer, 
who, after the cheering su])sided, said; "The heavens 
are reverberating around us and above us from can- 
non planted on either shore of the river near by, 
which divides the State of Iowa from your Territory, 
but they are not deluging the soil with blood of fel- 
low countrymen. No, it is another cause in which 
they are speaking ; it is the cause of progress, of civil- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 11 

ization and peace, and this the day we celebrate, is 
one of its days of triumph. Although I have thought 
and hoped with you for years for the consummation of 
the event we are here today to celebrate, and with 
Avhich the interests of the people of Omaha and Coun- 
cil Bluffs have ever been so intimately identified, 
yet it has remained until this hour a subject of Avhich 
w^e could not speak with any degree of certainty. But 
it is that the President, as he Avas authorised to do, 
has designated this as a point, and that there, on the 
banks of that turbid stream which rolls at our feet — 
w^hicli takes its course thousands of miles above us, 
where it is so small that a single ox could drink it 
dry of a summer day, is to be the crossing of that 
great national thoroughfare which is to unite and 
bind together with bands of iron the Atlantic and Pa- 
cific. We look upon this as an event in the history of 
this country and of our people as worthy of commem- 
oration. As yet this is a sparsely settled country, but 
wdth all the elements for the creation of agricultur- 
al wealth which is the basis upon which all others 
rest, w^e may now, by the location of this road, ex- 
pect a large accession in numbers. With such a 
country as we have here, with such a future as there 



12 NORTH PLATTE AND 

is before it, the odious relations of landlord and ten- 
ant, which is only another name for that of master 
and slave, now existing in the older States, will be 
placed in progress of gradual extinction. ' ' 

A stirring and witty speech was delivered b}^ the 
somewhat erratic George Francis Train, in which he 
stated that he happened to be lying round loose in 
the locality and had availed himself of the opportun- 
ity of being present at the inauguration of 'the great- 
est enterprise under God, the world ever witnessed." 

The statement of Train in this speech that the 
Union Pacific Railroad would be completed before 
the year 1870, was received with a burst of derisive 
laughter. The statement seemed extravagant, but 
the prediction came true, the last rail being laid, and 
the last spike driven on the 10th of May, 1869. 

When Mr. Train concluded his address the crowd 
dispersed, well satisfied with the proceedings, and in 
the evening Omaha was brilliantly illuminated and a 
banquet and ball took place at the Herndon House ; 
there being great rejoicing that before long a railroad 
would open a way for immigration into the valleys of 
Nebraska. 

Preparatory arrangements were immediately en- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 13 

tered into for the construction of the road, and T. 
C. Durant's call for one million cross ties for immedi- 
ate use, and three million more within two years 
was received with derision, as no person believed that 
such a quantity could be procured. Mr. Durant, how- 
ever, was not to be deterred by apparent impossibili- 
ties, and emphatically declared they must be had. 

Every source was applied to and good prices of- 
fered, and very soon a perfect torrent of ties began 
to come in. 

Some grading was done in the Autumn of 1864, 
but it was not until the 10th of July, 1865, that the 
first rail of the Union Pacific Railroad was laid 
along the bottoms between Cut-off Lake and the 
grade leading through the hills out of Omaha, and 
it may be remarked, that it was the first rail of the 
first railroad in the State of Nebraska. Towards the 
end of the same month, the first locomotive arrived. 
It was named the ''General Sherman," and was 
brought up the Missouri river by steamboat in charge 
of Thomas Jordan who put it together on the track 
and ran it for some time. Jordan was an expert 
engineer, but becoming unsettled, drifted away from 
the Union Pacific, and after a variety of fortune died 



14 NORTH PLATTE AND 

it is said, in Denver. Two weeks later the second lo- 
comotive arrived in charge of Luther 0. Farrington. 
It was named the ''General McPherson, " and was 
brought from St. Joseph, Missouri on the steamboat 
*' Colorado." Mr. Farrington put this engine to- 
gether on the track, and commenced running it on 
August 3, 1865. There was but one and one-half 
miles of track built out of Omaha at the time, and 
the country was almost exclusively inhabited by In- 
dians, and herds of buffalo, deer and antelope roam- 
ed the plains. 

Mr. Farrington remained in the employ of the 
Union Pacific Company until February, 1905, when 
he was retired and Iplaced on the pension list. He 
was born in Calledonia County, Vermont, March 12, 
1840, and became a member of Division 88 of the 
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers when it was 
organized at Grand Island in July, 1867. He was an 
early citizen of North Platte, and ran a passenger 
train between it and Grand Island for mau}^ years. 
He enjoyed a comfortable leisure up to about the 
close of 1909, when broken in health, he went to Ex- 
celsior Springs, IMissouri, for treatmen, and from 
thence to a hospital at Omaha. Being sick unto 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 15 

death, he longed to be at his home at North Platte, 
and in an endeavor to reach it, was conveyed on 
board a train, bnt died when it neared Brady, on the 
night of June 12, 1910. 

"When the building of the Union Pacific Railroad 
was entered upon; General Grenville M. Dodge was 
chief engineer of construction, and General Jack 
Casement and his brother Dan had charge of the 
track laying. They were men of undoubted ability 
and courage, and well qualified to carry on the work 
intrusted to them. 

The working force was almost entirely compos- 
ed of retired soldiers whose experience during the 
Civil War admirably fitted them for encounters with 
hostile Indians and to endure the privations of camp 
life on the plains. At an alarm, when hostile Indians 
were seen approaching the camp,these men would fall 
into line and prepare to meet the attack with the read-^ 
iness and decision of veteran soldiers. 

To General Dodge belongs the credit of forward- 
ing the work of track laying with unwonted rapid- 
ity. Being an enthusiast, he not only communicated 
his spirit to his working forces, but skillfully 
managed hostile Indians, laborers, and the ruffians 



16 NORTH PLATTE AND 

and gamblers who followed the camp. Having dis- 
tinguished himself during the civil war, he was inti- 
mate with commanding officers of garrisons and 
military posts along the route, and was enabled to 
avail himself of military aid against marauding Indi- 
ans, and also frequently to maintain order when 
worthless camp followers became unruly. His system 
of track laying was unique. In the lading of con- 
struction trains with material brought up on boats 
from St. Joseph, each car was assigned a certain 
number of rails of the same length, and the exact 
number of spikes required to lay them. When the 
scene of track laying was reached, the rails were 
thrown off; the train backed, and the rails trans- 
ferred to small cars. Horse power was used to 
move these to within a couple of feet from the end 
of the rails already laid down; and before the car 
had well stopped, a dozen men grasped a rail on 
each side, ran it down on the already laid ties, gaug- 
ed it, and before the clang of its falling had ceased 
to reverberate, the car was moved ahead and an- 
other pair of rails drawn out. Men followed up and 
dropped spikes, and some thirty others drove them. 
The moment a car was emptied of rails, a number 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 17 

of men seized it and threw it off the track, and a 
second one followed with its load of rails. By this 
process, it was estimated, that on an average, eight 
hundred feet of track was laid in the brief space of 
thirty minutes. 

The first government inspection of the track 
took place on January 26, 1866, and at that time 
about thirty miles had been laid, and it is worthy of 
remark that the equipment consisted of four loco- 
motives, five box cars, and thirty flat cars. By the 
Fall of 1866, two hundred and sixty miles more of 
track were completed. Grand Island was reached 
on July 8, 1866, and the construction train was run 
to that point; the train being drawn by the engine 
"Osceola," which was captured by the Indians Avest 
of Plum Creek about two years afterwards. 

At that date, the road was finished so far, and 
in operation, with depots and water stations, and 
substantial bridges spanned streams which were the 
terror of emigrants in days when the slow, toiling 
team carried the family and household goods to the 
mountains, or the green valleys of the Pacific Slope. 

The track was completed to North Platte in No- 
vember, 1866, and there the terminus remained until 



18 NORTH PLATTE AND 

the following year; continuance of the work being 
delayed by Indian hostility. 

Few have any idea of the difficulties under 
which the line of the Union Pacific was constructed. 
Chief Engineer General G. M. Dodge in a statement 
to the eastern owners, said: ''During the entire con- 
struction of the road, a relentless, determined war 
has been waged all along the line b}^ the tribes of the 
plains, and no peace found until we had long passed 
the hostile country and got beyond their reach 
* * * Every mile had to be run within range of 
musket, and there was not a moment's security. In 
making surveys, numbers of our men, some of them 
the ablest and most promising, were killed; and dur- 
ing the construction, our stock was run off by the. 
hundred; I might say by the thousand. As one dif- 
ficulty after another was overcome in the engineer- 
ing, running and construction departments, a new 
era in railroading w^as inaugurated. Each day taught 
us a lesson by which we profited for the next, and 
our advances and improvements on the art of rail- 
way construction were marked by the progress of 
the work." 

Everything was done at enormous cost. None of 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 19 

the Iowa railroads had reached the Missouri river, 
consequently all material, machinery, fuel, provisions, 
men, everything in fact, had to go to St. Louis and 
be transferred by boat to Omaha. The treeless 
plains of Nebraska furnished no ties, and they had 
to be transported from remote points at great ex- 
pense, sometimes costing as much as $2.50 apiece. The 
cost of labor and provisions was also greatly enhanc- 
ed by lack of direct communication with markets; 
and in the absence of wood and coal, fuel had to be 
shipped in at a fri^^htful cost; therefore, all honor 
to the men who constructed the Union Pacific rail- 
road and braved danger and almost unsurmountable 
difficulties, to blaze the way for civilization. 



20 NORTH PLATTE AND 



CHAPTER II. 
First house built in North Platte. — First store. — The 
Peniston & Miller homesteads. — Coming of the 
U. P. Railroad creates a large population. — The 
first newspaper. — A military post for town pro- 
tection. — Building the U. P. shops and Round 
House. — First houses. — Early residents. — Work- 
men sleep and cook for themselves in" the shops" 
— The Cedar Hotel. — Indian troubles. — The Peace 
Conference. — First weddings. — Shop associations. 
— Indians threaten the town. — To the Round 
House for refuge. 



When the site of the fair city of North Platte 
was buffalo pasture, and the surrounding country 
the home of the Indian, William S. Peniston and An- 
drew J. Miller conducted a trading post called 
"Gold Water" at a point twenty -five miles west of 
Plum Creek. The country was without civil gov- 
ernment, Indians numerous, and white men few, and 
the few were generally voyagers or in some way con- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 



21 



neeted with the United States army. 

In the sniumer of 1866, the track of the Union 
Pacific Railway was built past this trading post, and 
Mr. Miller, learning while in Omaha that the termin- 




A. J. MILLER, North Platte's First Citizen. 



us of the first division of the road would be located 
between the rivers above where they were building 
the North Platte bridge, a better location for the 



22 NORTH PLATTE AND 

business conducted by Peniston and himself was sug- 
gested. Having a quantity of lumber and building 
material brought from Denver, they hauled it to the 
newly platted site of North Platte, and Mr. Miller, 
with his men and teams, camped there the last of 
September, 1866. Stillness reigned, and there was 
little to encourage settlement, but he felt assured 
that before long the silence would be broken by the 
hum of human activity. The town site was newly 
staked off, and looking round, he selected and 
bought a lot at the corner of what is now Locust and 
Front streets; and put up a frame building for a 
store, which was the first building built in North 
Platte. He afterwards paid the first freight bill, and 
opened up with a stock of goods on the 9th day of 
November. 

Early in 1867, he moved the log store building 
that he and his partner had at Cold Water, to Co- 
zad, and shipped it to North Platte, and put it up 
where it now stands. The frame building, and half of 
the lot was afterwards sold to Althimer & Co. for 
$1,111. This firm shortly thereafter, took the build- 
ing down in sections and following the construction 
camp, set it up where convenient. After a time the 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 2:] 

half lot was bought back for $150, and such is the ac- 
count of a very early real estate deal, and the ori- 
gin of the well built, bustling city of North Platte, 
as related by A. J. Miller, its first citizen. 

Peniston & Miller were associated in business up 
to 1870; when they dissolved partnership. Mr. Mil- 
ler carried on the business until 1872, w^hen deciding 
to retire, he sold the merchandise to Otto Uhling, 
and the historic building to Charles McDonald vrho 
conducted a popular grocery business in it for sever- 
al years. 

After Mr. McDonald vacated the building, it as- 
sumed a dilapidated and abandoned appearance, the 
activity by which it was characterized having depart- 
ed. The building, however, was a land mark, and 
was pointed out as a relic of early days, but on the 
morning of April 21,1910, it caught fire and despite 
heroic efforts of the Fire Brigade and citizens, it was 
thoroughly wrecked before the flames were subdued. 
The cedar logs of which the walls were constructed 
were exposed by the fire, and appeared as solid as 
when put in place. 

W. S. Peniston nd A. J. Miller were the first to 
take up land adjoining, and likely to be included with 



24 NORTH PLATTE AND 

in the limits of the proposed city at some time. It 
appears that they had a stretch of land on the south 
fenced in. Col. J. B. Park was surveying in the 
neighborhood and noticing this, interviewed Mr.Mil- 
ler. In course of conversation he said that if he was 
allowed to homestead part of the land they had in- 
closed, he would give the number of the section. As 
the land was not officially announced as surveyed, 
this was agreed to, and it was arranged that the Col- 
onel should homestead one hundred and sixty acres, 
and that he and Peniston, take eighty each; and 
such is the origin of these additions to the city. 

As stated, the Union Pacific Railroad was com- 
pleted to North Platte in November, 1866, and there 
the terminus remained until the following year. Then, 
the country was in a state of nature, wild and open, 
with no sign of civilization. Deer, antelope and buf- 
falo were numerous; ducks and geese swarmed on 
the sloughs and along the rivers, and Indians roam- 
ed at will in primitive freedom. The advance of civ- 
ilization, however, was fated to change all this; for 
with the railroad came a motly crowd of construction 
camp denizens; amongst 'whom were roughs, toughs 
and gamblers, and saloons and questionable resorts 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 25 

were soon doing business in canvass tents, and all 
manner of hurriedly constructed abodes. This cosmo- 
politan crowd is said to have numbered some three 
thousand persons, and no governing power control- 
led it. 

A. J. Miller tells of a mammoth tent east of his 
store; in w^hich there was a saloon bar; billiard ta- 
bles, and all kinds of gambling devices. A man by 
the name of McDonald, he states, ran it, and made 
a large amount of money by following the construc- 
tion camp. Less pretentious resorts where vice was 
pandered to were numerous, and on the whole, the 
North Platte of that day was a lively and somewhat 
picturesque place. 

It is worthy of mention, that a newspaper called 
the Pioneer on Wheels, came with the railroad and 
supplied the camp with news of the outside w^orld. 
It was printed in, and published from a box car by 
a man named Clark, and without doubt was the first 
news sheet issued in North Platte. A copy would be 
a curiosity, but search and inquiry have failed to lo- 
cate one. This paper is referred to in the Platte Val- 
ley Independent, an early local paper, and James 
M. Ray, a pioneer citizen, speaks positively of it. 



26 NORTH PLATTE AND 

Work on the Railroad was resumed in July, 1867 ; 
and Avhen the construction camp moved west, the 
bulk of the floating population followed, and it was 
not long until there Avas barely one hundred and fifty 
people left, most of them being employed on the rail- 
road. 

The Indians were never very docile or easily man- 
aged, but early in 1867, they became restless and ov- 
erbearing. Small parties of white men had been at- 
tacked, and unprotected, killed and scalped. Stock 
was also run off when opportunity afforded, and 
many depredations committed. Peniston and Miller 
had eighty head of cattle stolen by them when fill- 
ing a wood contract at Willow Island, and others lost 
heavily by raids. 

By the close of 1867, North Platte was becom- 
ing quite a village ; and as it showed signs of growth ; 
the Government, to protect it and suppress Indian 
troubles, established a Military Post, garrisoned it 
with two companies of cavalry and maintained it until 
1880. About that date, the Indians in Lincoln Coun- 
ty were deported to a reservation, and as there was 
no further need for Military protection; the build- 
ings of the Post were disposed of, and the site is now 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 27 

built on and traversed by streets. This historic 
Post or Barracks was sitiiattd a little west of town 
near the railroad track. 

Early in 1867 the Railroad Company began the 
erection of their Round House, and shops. The 
Blacksmith shop was first built. Arthur P. Wood, 
Civil Engineer of Omaha superintended the work, 
and remained until all the buildings were completed. 

The first houses w^ere built oj sod and not a 
few of logs, but by the close of 1867 several frame 
houses were erected; notably, the two still standing 
at the corners of Locust and Sixth Streets. The 
one on the west corner was tht home of A. J. 
Miller and the one on the east, that of W. S. Pen- 
iston. The late David Day, Franklin Peale, and Jos- 
eph and Andy Picard/ were the first shopmen to 
build. Their homes were or Sixth and Chestnut 
streets, but by the Fall of 1868 the prairie became 
dotted with small houses. These were mostly unplas- 
tered, but secured against the penetrating winds of 
• winter by robes, skins and such like tacked to the 
walls. With these, and a hot cook-stove going day 
and night while cold spells and blizzards lasted, the 
inmates managed to get along. But families kept com- 



28 NORTH PLATTE AND 

in^ and were made welcome, and it may ])e trutli- 
fidly said that there was more friendly intercourse 
amongst neighbors than there has been since. 

Among the families of these early days were those 
of David Day, Franklin Peal, Albert Marsh, Frazier, 
Struthers, W. J. Patterson, M. C. Keith, Lew Baker, 
Lamplaugh, Dangherty, Peniston, Miller, Van Doran, 
A. P. Carlson, Russell, Austin, Morin, R.J. WymaUjW. 
M. Hinman and others, all worthy citizens, and al- 
though many of them have entered the silent halls 
of death, all names are familiar and associated with 
days when North Platte was a frontier settlement 
and the Indian and buffalo roamed the wilds of Lin- 
coln County in unrestricted freedom. 

The Union Pacific pay roll for January 1868 
shows there were five blacksmith, twenty -two ma- 
chinists, and one boilermaker in the employ at 
North Platte, and that J. P. Marston was master me- 
chanic, Albert Marsh, foreman of the blacksmith 
shop, James Van Claim of the machine shop, and a 
Mr. Granger of the copper shop. "Work at that time, 
and for years after, was plentiful and pressing, and 
continued from seven in the morning until half past 
ten at night, and often until twelve and one next 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 29 

morning; Sundays being iis other days. Big money 
was earned, and as it was spent freely, others were 
made prosperous. 

In those days, boarding places were few and 
crowded, and many workmen slept in bunks in the 
machine shop and round house, the carpenters 
sleeping on their , work benches. Some cooked 
their food and roughed it ,while others took their 
meals at the Cedar Hotel, a rough log structure that 
stood on the site of the Timmerman building on Front 
Street. It was the only hotel in town at one time, 
but served requirements as well as any at the pres- 
ent day. One fine morning, however, it burned, 
and as the town was increasing, the late IM. C. Keith 
erected a larger and better building on the site and 
successfully ran a hotel for some time; but his build- 
ing also shared the fate of its predecessor. Shortly 
after its destruction, the Nebraska House was built, 
and it and other boarding places began to offer ac- 
commodation to railroad men and the traveling pub- 
lic. 

The Indians continued surly and dissatisfied. 
They claimed that they had been deprived of their 
lands by the encroachment of the whites, and that 



30 NORTH PLATTE AND 

certain remuneration for their loss had been denied 
them. They also complained that the government 
had not kept its promise; that at stated times, blan- 
kets and other necessities would be issued to them, 
and that upon going to appointed places to receive 
supplies, they were disappointed. To negotiate with 
the Indians, and obtain a cessation of hostilities,a con- 
ference was suggested, and the Indian chiefs agreed 
to meet commissioners appointed by the Govern- 
ment at North Platte, on September 24, 1868, To- 
ward the end of July small bands of Sioux began to 
arrive; but by September, not only Sioux, but 
Pawnees, Cheyennes, and other tribes came in force, 
and it is stated by citizens who saw them, that it 
was a never-to-be-forgotten sight to see the various 
bands filing slowly along west of the round house 
clothed in garments made of hides of deer, antelope, 
buffalo and elk. Many had jjonies with poles attach- 
ed to them, the ends trailing on the ground. On 
these improvised, wheelless wagons, baggage was 
piled, and what could not be put on, squaws and 
ponies carried. This quaint, picturesque throng toiled 
slowly to the North river, crossed by a ford, and 
went into camp. The chiefs, headmen, and interp- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 31 

reters, with their squaws and families; and also half- 
breeds and squaw-men with their families, camped a 
little to the west of the round house. 

Skins, buffalo robes and pelts w^ere all the In- 
dians had to exchange for desired commodities, and 
the result was that the stores of Peniston and Mil- 
ler, and Otto Uhling (the only stores in tow^n at the 
time) were packed w-ith theto. Buffalo robes were 
a drug on the market, and Indians gladly accepted a 
silver dollar for the finest. These Indians are said 
to have been fine specimens of mankind, being mod- 
erately tall, and physically vigorous and strong. The 
Society of Friends of Philadelphia sent boxes of 
clothingjthe articles to be distributed amongst them, 
but they had no use for coats or vests, and as for 
pants, they changed them to approved Indian fash- 
ion by cutting the legs off at the knees, and mak- 
ing a flap in the seat. 

General Sherman, General Harvey, and John P. 
Sanborne were appointed by the Government to con- 
fer with the Indian chiefs. The Union Pacific ma- 
chine shop was just built, and as the machinery had 
not been placed in it, it was considered a suit- 
able place in which to hold the conference, and 



32 NORTH PLATTE AND 

there it was held. The Indian chiefs. Standing Elk, 
Swift Bear, Pawnee Killer, Spotted Tail, Man-that- 
walks-iinder-ground, and Big Mouth arrived on the 
day, and at the hour appointed Avith their interpre- 
ters, and after a long conference and much discus- 
sion, a Treaty of Peace was entered upon. 

By this time. North Platte was getting to be a 
town of some importance, and during their stay the 
commissioners were well entertained by the citizens. 
Parties were given in their honor, and at a wedding 
they attended, Gen. Sherman was the first to kiss 
the bride. Previous to this, W. M. Hinman officiat- 
ed at a double wedding in the old Union Pacific Ho- 
tel which was celebrated in true Western fashion. 
This hotel was destroyed by fire in May, 1869. These 
weddings were the first in North Platte, but such 
celebrations steadily increased, and are far from be- 
coming obsolete. 

After the Peace Commission, the first meeting of 
Free Masons in North Platte Avas convened in the 
machine shop, and held in a small room in the loft, 
then, and for long after reached by a stairway. The 
object was to get the brethren in the locality to- 
gether, so that by spending a social hour they Avould 



ITS ASSOCIATIOiNS UIJ 

become acquainted. In this same room were rifles 
and bayonets for the workmen should the Indians at 
any time make a raid on the company's premises. 
They w^ere never required, and wiien Indian troubles 
ceased, w^ere appropriated by youths in the employ 
of the company and converted into rifles for hunting. 
So late as 1881, a few of these weapons w^ere found 
covered with dust and rust and for some time bay- 
onets lay about the machine shops. 

The ten stall round house of that day, blown 
down in 1881, also had its associations. To it wom- 
en and children fled when terrorized by a report 
that the Indians were going to attack the town and 
murder the inhabitants. This was in the spring of 
1868. It seems that a report had been circulated 
that the Indians were on the war path in large force 
perpetrating their usual atrocities. The tale spread 
on all sides, and was supplemented and enlarged by 
all kinds of variations that imagination and fear 
could suggest. Settlers thronged to the military 
Posts for protection, and the women and children of 
the town sought refuge in the round house. Men 
armed themselves and looked out for the expected 
Indian attack, but as it failed to materialize, the 



34 NORTH PLATTE AND 

scare subsided. That the local report was not whol- 
ly without foundation is made evident by the state- 
ment of A. J. Miller. He says: ''Peniston and I had 
been over on the south side of the river, and com- 
ing back to town, noticed many Indians. They all 
had their bows strung and arrows in their hands, and 
I told Peniston it looked as though we were going 
to have trouble. I drove up to the store and found 
that many people in town had already gone to the 
round house. I ran over to my house and tried to 
get my wife and Mrs. Peniston to go there too, but 
my wife refused to go. I then ran out and found 
High Bear and asked him to harangue the Indians 
and tell them their hearts were bad, and that I want- 
ed to see them at the store. In a short time the 
store was full of Indians, and I made a talk to them, 
telling them that I could see that their hearts were 
on the ground, but that I was their friend and 
wanted them to feel good. I then gave them about 
two hundred and fifty dollars worth of goods so 
they could have a feast, besides giving them some 
hats and clothing and things of that kind. There 
was no further trouble. The Indians afterwards told 
General Harney at the Whetstone Agency, that if it 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 35 

had not been for 'Sharp Nose', (the name they gave 
me) they would have killed everybody and burned 
the town." 



36 NORTH PLATTE AND 



CHAPTER HI. 

North Platte's rapid growth. — Becomes the County 
Seat. — First meeting of County Commissioners.' — 
Circuit Judge holds Court. — First County War- 
ants.- — Cattle raising. — Judge Daugherty and 
the school fund. — North Platte in '68. — First sa- 
loon licenses. — U. P. Engines levied on for taxes 
and chained. — The old Log School house, its 
teachers and associations. — An Indian scare, and 
the gun that scared the teacher. — First Sunday 
School in North Platte. 



About the close of 1867, North Platte had so 
increased in population and importance that it was 
considered more suitable to be the county seat than 
Cottonwood Springs where it was located at the 
time. That this idea was universally entertained is 
evident by the following enterics in the County Rec- 
ords: ''At a special term of the County Commission- 
ers' Court of Lincoln County, Nebraska, at their 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 37 

usual place of holding court at Cottonwood Springs, 
Nebraska, on the 27th day of September, A. D., 1867. 
Present, W. M. Hinman and John A. Morrow, Com- 
missioners; the following proceedings were had: It 
was ordered that all that portion of Lincoln County 
south of the Platte river shall constitute Cotton- 
wood Precinct; and all that portion of said county 
lying between the North and South Platte shall con- 
stitute the North Platte precinct. It is also ordered 
that an election be held in Lincoln County on the 
8th day of October, A. D., 1867, for one member of 
the House of Representatives; one Commissioner for 
district No. 2; one Probate Judge; one Coroner; one 
County Treasurer; one County Clerk; one County 
Surveyor; one Prosecuting Attorney for the precinct 
of North Platte; two Justices and two Constables; 
also for the location of the County Seat of Lincoln 
County, Nebraska. No other business, the Court ad- 
journs to meet at the same place on the 25th day 
of October, A. D., 1867." 

Charles McDonald was County Clerk, and the 
Commissioners met at his house. How many ran for 
these offices, or to what political parties they be- 
longed, is not recorded, but twenty-one votes were 



38 NORTH PLATTE AND 

cast, and the proposition to make North Platte the 
County Seat carried, and the following gentlemen 
were elected to guard the welfare, and shape the 
destiny of County and City : B. I. Hinman, Represent- 
ative; W. M. Hinman, Judge; Charles McDonald, 
Clerk; 0. Austin, Sheriff; Hugh Morgan, Treasur- 
er; A. J. Miller, Commissioner. 

As arranged, the Commissioners met at "the 
usual place of doing business, ' ' on the 25th of October, 
1867; and after appointing an assessor for Lincoln 
County and transacting other business, ''It was or- 
dered that on the 12th day of November, 1867, the 
County Seat of Lincoln County, and all records of 
said County shall be transferred to the town of North 
Platte, State of Nebraska. On motion, the County 
Commissioners adjourned to meet at North Platte, 
Nebraska, at noon, on the 12th day of November, A. 
D., 1867." 

They met on the day and at the hour appointed; 
but North Platte had no municipal building, or place 
wherein to transact County business; so the first, and 
several other meetings were held in a log house used 
as a residence of W. M. Hinman who that fall had 
removed to town. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 39 

There being no business to transact at the first 
meeting of Commissioners in North Platte, an ad- 
journment was taken. 

Towards the close of 1867, Judge Gantt, then Cir- 
cuit Judge for the entire State of Nebraska, conven- 
ed Court at the Railroad Hotel, and although a jury 
was impaneled, no indictments were brought in. 

It was during this year that the first county 
warrants were issued. 

Mr. A. J. Miller states that when he was elect- 
ed County Commissioner in '67, there was no money 
in the treasury, and County "Warrants were hardly 
worth anything, many being sold for ten cents on the 
dollar. To carry the County along , Peniston and Mil- 
ler took them at their face value in exchange for 
supplies to the Sheriff for the jail and other county 
requisites during years 1868 and 1869; and in this 
way acquired a pile that figured up to between ten 
and twelve thousand dollars. Being anxious to re- 
alize on them, Mr. Miller took warrants amounting 
to $10,000, to Omaha, and was told by the president 
and cashier of the First Nation.-d Bank that they 
would not loan ten cents on the dollar on them, as 
they did not consider they were worth any thing. 



40 NORTH PLATTE AND 

They said that it was doubtful if North Platte was in 
Lincoln County as thei west line was east of it. Dis- 
heartened but not discouraged, Mr. Miller returned 
home, and it was not long before Lincoln County war- 
rants were freely accepted. 

Owing to the aggression of the Indians, cattle 
raising had not been carried on to any extent around 
North Platte previous to 1868. About that date, 
herds were brought in by Nathaniel Russel, Peniston 
and Miller, M. H. Brown, Keith and Barton, John 
Bratt and others; and this may be said to have been 
the beginning of the vast cattle business so long car- 
ried on in Lincoln and adjacent counties. 

Hundreds of miles of Government and Railroad 
lands lay unoccupied, and it might be said that range 
for cattle was unlimited. The winters were less se- 
vere then, and really rough wintery weather was of 
short duration, and cattle came through in fairly 
good condition. Putting up hay to winter stock 
was considered unnecessary; and so matters went on 
until the winter of 1880 when cattle perished by the 
thousand, and the prairie was strewn with carcasses. 
Many had invested, and a few made fortunes, but this 
catastrophy ruined several. Ever after, cattle re- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 41 

ceived attention; and all went well until homestead- 
ers invaded the range. Cattlemen fumed and swore, 
and tried to drive them away; telling them the land 
was unproductive and they would starve. To this 
the homesteader turned a deaf ear, and continued to 
plough and sow, and see crop after crop fail for lack 
of moisture. He experienced privation and hardship, 
but hope sustained him and in the expectation of bet- 
ter results, he plodded along. Threats did not deter 
homesteaders, for they continued to come until it be- 
came impossible to run herds, and cattlemen had to 
give up business, or leave for other pastures. Mois- 
ture gradually became more abundant, and in course 
of time, a grazing country became a rich farming 
country. 

In January, 1868, Charles McDonald was re-elect- 
ed County Clerk, but having neglected to qualify 
for office, R. C. Daugherty was appointed. Daugher- 
ty was also Justice of the Peace, and on February 
4, 1868, fined a man $21.50 for stealing an overcoat. 
This was the first money paid into the public treas- 
ury, and was the first contribution to the school 
fund, the law of the state being, that all money col- 
lected as fines go to support public scliools. Daugh- 



42 NORTH PLATTE AND 

erty is said to have been a stern judge who never 
scrupled to impose a penalty. "Go on with your 
school/' he would say, "and I'll find funds for it," 
and he did; for every one brought before him was 
fined to the limit. 

At that time, North Platte was infested with 
reckless desperados, brothels, gambling dens and 
unlicensed saloons that ran wide open all days of 
the week and hours of the night. Most men went 
armed, and few law abiding citizens ventured out 
alone after dark. There were some small buildings 
arranged along what is now Dewey Street, and where 
the First National Bank stands, was a notorious sa- 
loon much patronized by gamblers and questionable 
characters of both sexes. Front Street, however, was 
the business street, and froni Walnut to Ash Street 
were many one storied shanties in which drinks were 
dispensed. Then cowboys would ride long distances 
to have "a good time" at North Platte, which gen- 
erally consisted in patronizing its saloons and re- 
sorts. They were a frolicsome lot and seldom gave 
trouble, no, not even after a round up when they 
spent their hard earned dollars freely, and made 
things lively, and it was not uncommon for one or 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 43 

more to ride into a saloon, order drinks and in wild 
glee, shoot out the lights; or ride at a furious pace 
through the town, whooping and yelling as they shot 
in the air. Then, many a man died with his boots on, 
and it was a question with the law abiding, whether 
white men or Indians were most to be feared. 

The transactions of the County Commissioners 
were somwhat formal at first, but at a meeting held, 
March 23, 1868, they got dow^n to business, and insti- 
tuted reform that startled the community. At that 
meeting it was ordered that 0. 0. Austin be appointed 
Assessor for North Platte precinct, ''and that he be 
directed to assess the property of the Union Pacific 
Railroad company in this precinct which consists of 
the district of country between the Platte rivers, to 
the western boundary of the State of Nebraska. Al- 
so to assess all town lots in the town of North Platte 
and Julesburg; and further ordered that all persons 
be prohibited from selling spirituous or malt liquors 
in less quantities than five gallons, unless they ob- 
tain license from the County Commissioners as provid- 
ed by law. Also, that all persons applying to sell 
liquor pay the sum of twenty-five dollars as a license 
fee for one year from date of application, into the 



44 NORTH PLATTE AND 

County Treasury, and that the County Clerk post no- 
tices giving ten days to all retailers of spirituous and 
malt liquors to comply with the order." 

To pay for license was considered an imposition, 
and an infringment of western liberty and the sa- 
loonists refused to comply. However, the Commis- 
sioners remained firm, and at a meeting held on the 
6th day of April, 1868, the bonds of seven saloon 
keepers were approved, and license granted; and all 
went well until the following year when the Commis- 
sioners saw fit to increase the fee to one hundred and 
fifty dollars for twelve months. This order caused 
great dissatisfaction and was so vigorously opposed, 
that it had to be rescinded and the former fee re- 
stored. Then, and long after, wiiiskey retailed at 
twenty-five cents a drink, and other beverages were 
proportionately high priced Wages were high, and 
so were the necessaries of life ; a quarter having no 
greater purchasing power than a five cent piece has 
today. 

The assessor, acting upon the order of the 
Commissioners, levied on the property of the Union 
Pacific Railroad Company in North Platte Precinct, 
and made an assessed valuation of $49,000. This tax- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 45 

ation the Railroad Company refused to pay, and the 
case was tested before the courts of the state and 
finally brought to a settlement by the Sheriff locking- 
and chaining the engines in the round house under 
a writ of attachment procured by the County Treas- 
urer. Major William Woodhurst was sheriff at the 
time, and he states that he chained the engines and 
left an armed guard in charge, and that the process 
speedly brought about a settlement. Since that time, 
there has been no trouble with the Union Pacific 
Company regarding the payment of taxes. 

The effort of the County Commissioners to con- 
trol the liquor traffic is commendable, but no effort 
was made to improve the moral condition of the peo- 
ple. There was not a place of worship in the city, 
and the means for educating children was limited 
and crude. The old log school house that stood on 
the corner of Fifth and Dewey Streets, was newly 
built when they began to legislate, but there is no 
record that the Commissioners had any thing to do 
with its erection. Mr. A. J. Miller states in a com- 
munication that it was built by money subscribed by 
citizens for the purpose, he thinks, not before 1868. 
''When it was built, ', he says, 'Sve had no teacher. 



46 NORTH PLATTE AND 

so I wrote to an nnele in New York and told him if 
Mary Hubbard would come out, I would meet her in 
Omaha, and we would give her the school to teach 
at $100 per month, and she could live with my family. 
She came and taught in the first Public School in 
Lincoln County." 

In the records of the Public Schools of North 
Platte, there is an entry signed, ''James Belton, " 
stating that "the origin of our district like that of 
our ancestors is lost in gloom, but tradition tells 
us that in the year 1868, a few citizens of this place 
met and organized School District No. 1 by electing 
L. H. Baker, E. Morin and Mr. Probin, school officers, 
who proceeded to the erection of a log school house. 
Lou Baker was elected to the honorable office of 
Treasurer, and as the district had no money, he went 
down into his own pocket every Saturday and paid 
the workmen. Mr. T. M. Clarke, the brother of Mrs. 
Lou Baker was the first teacher. The school attend- 
ance was about eight pupils. The foregoing was ob- 
tained from Mr. L. H. Baker as no record is now in 
existence." 

Local tradition has it that the first public relig- 
ious service in' North Platte was held in the log school 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 47 

by an itinerant Lutheran minister named Cook, in 
August 1868, and that the voice of the first school 
teacher in Lincoln County also woke its echo. He is 
said to have been a young- man named Clarke; but 
he did not take kindly to teaching, and resigned be- 
fore the term expired. He was succeeded by a Mr. 
Garman who also resigned after a brief stay. The 
next appointed was Miss Mary Hubbard, a young 




First School House in North Platte. 

woman in all the bloom and blush of early woman- 
hood, and school was opened by her, November 30, 
1868. She had less than a dozen scholars, and few 
school books; only one Fourth Reader, and it was 
monopolized by the only one in the class, a tall young 
man, so tall, that the teacher had to look up to him, 
and when the class was to be heard, the one book 



48 NORTH PLATTE AND 

difficulty was got over by the pupil sitting down so 
the teacher could see the page from which he read. 
Miss Hubbard is now Mrs Gilman, and although 
somewhat aged, retains much of her youthful vivacity. 
No pioneer citizen is more esteemed than she, and 
her family is alike a credit to herself and the city. 

A report was circulated that the Indians were 
about to invade the town and scalp all and sundry, 
people became excited. A school director called at 
the school house and gave the teacher a revolver to 
protect herself and the children. The w^eapon was 
laid aside, but she eyed it with suspicion, and spent 
the afternoon in fear and trembling, not of the In- 
dians, but of the pesky gun, lest it might go off and 
kill some one. 

In course of time the population increased, and 
children of school age soon taxed the capacity of 
the log school house. To obviate this, an addition 
was built to it in 1875, and Misses Holcomb and Hall 
engaged to teach. This enlargement, however, only 
gave temporary relief, and a more commodious build- 
ing was necessary. In 1873 a two-story brick school 
house was erected, and the log school house having 
served its day was sold at public auction, February 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 49 

9, 1874, and knocked down to Joseph MeConnell, his 
bid being six hundred and eleven dollars. It was long 
occupied by Mrs. Thompson as a residence and millin- 
ery store, and was looked upon as a relic of pioneer 
days. 

Mr. Hershey came to own it, moved it to make 
space for the erection of the Warner building. It 
presently stands in the Alley behind the Lock resi- 
dence on Fourth Street, covered with sheet iron and 
converted into a stable. Its identity is gone, and it is 
to be regretted that it is thus desecrated. There was 
nothing very lovable or attractive about the old build- 
ing, but it was an interesting relic of the past ; and it 
was with genuine regret that several who received 
the rudiments of their education at it, witnessed its 
removal. 

It is worthy of remark that the first Sunday 
School in North Platte w^as held in the log school 
house. The late Mrs. E. J. Cogswell of blessed mem- 
ory, came to North Platte in 1868 intent upon mis- 
sionary work. She was a Unitarian, but no sectarian, 
and willingly co-operated with people of all shades 
of belief for the moral good of the community. Near 
the colse of that year, aided by Mrs. M. C. Keith, 



50 NORTH PLATTE AND 

Mrs. A. J. Miller and Mrs. Kramph, she had the school 
room arranged for the reception of scholars to form 
a Sunday School class, but to the vexation of these 
excellent women, only three children attended. Mrs. 
Cogswell, however, was not easily discouraged, and 
visiting every family in town, in which there were 
children, she solicited their attendance and was re- 
warded by having quite a number of scholars. This 
school was organized as a Union Sunday School, and 
continued as such for many years. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 51 



CHAPTER IV. 

Necessity for a jail. — Log jail built. — Prisoners es- 
cape. — The town expands. — The Vigilant Com- 
mittee. — First church built. — South Platte bridge 
built. — Buffalo hunting. — McLucas store robbed. 
— Suspects arrested. — Man lynched at railroad 
bridge. — Mob at jail. — Suspects brought into court. 
— Seized by mob. — One hanged to telegraph pole. 
— One escapes and dies through exposure. 



At the close of 1868, and well into the seventies; 
North Platte was a pretty tough town, and very in- 
differently equipped to enforce the law and main- 
tain order. It had no jail, and on this account crime 
often went unpunished, but Avhen occasional arrests 
w^ere made, culprits had either to be kept in the 
guard house at the Post; sent to Fort McPherson, or 
other places for safe keeping. Prisoners w^ere a cost- 
ly encumbrance as will be seen by the following ex- 
tracts from the county records: ''October 16, 1868. — 



52 NORTH PLATTE AND 

At a meeting of Commissioners it was ordered that 
the claim of the Union Pacific Railroad Company for 
the transporting of prisoners to Fremont, the sum of 
one hundred and twenty-eight dollars and fifty cents 
be paid." 

'^ January 19, 1839: The claim of William Pateny 
for guarding prisoners eight days ; the sum of twen- 
ty-five dollars." 

''January 24, 1869: The claim of Dodge County, 
Nebraska, for keeping and trying John Burly for the 
crime of murder; the sum of four hundred and six- 
teen dollars, and fourteen cents." 

''February 1, 1869: Ordered that the claim of 
Company D; 18th United States Infantry for board- 
ing and guarding prisoners, the sum of two hundred 
and thirty-eight dollars be paid." 

"February 19, 1859: Ordered that the claim of 
Col. Bracket for keeping prisoners at Fort McPher- 
son, the sum of twenty-two dollars be paid." 

"March 3, 1869: Ordered that the claim of 
the Union Pacific Railroad Company for transporting 
prisoners from Omaha to North Platte, the sum of 
eighty -seven dollars and twenty-five cents, be paid." 

The commanding officer at the Post seems to 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 53 

liave tired of his guardhouse being used as a city 
jail, and intimated as much to the sheriff, who in 
turn, informed the county commissioners, but from 
an entry in the county records, its appears they had 
the erection of a jail under consideration, for, as it 
states, "The court met on the 28th of September, 
1868, at the county clerk's office at two o'clock p. 
m. Present, A. J. Miller, and W. M. Hinman. 

"It was ordered by the Board that proposals be 
received at the county clerk's office on the 5th day 
of October, 1868, to build a jail in the County of Lin- 
coln; said jail to be divided into two rooms, twelve 
feet square, and bids for larger or smaller rooms will 
be considered. Ordered that the county clerk is- 
sue notices to secure proposals for building a jail or 
furnish material for same ; said proposals to be re- 
ceived up to the 15th day of October 1868; the Board 
reserving the right to reject any or all bids." 

On October 17, 1868, a contract is entered into 
with W. S. Peniston, in accordance with his bid to 
build a county jail; and on January 16, 1869, it is 
ordered "that he receive the sum of twenty-five hun- 
dred dollars for building jail and furnishing cot. That 
this sum stands on motion." 



o4 NORTH PLATTE AND 

Afterwards, it was ''Ordered that the deed of 
Peniston and Miller, for the west half of lot number 
three (3) block, one hundred and three (103), in the 
town of North Platte, upon which the jail of Lincoln 
County now stands, be received under contract w4th 
W. S. Peniston, until the Union Pacific Railroad Com- 
pany can make a title ; and it is further ordered, that 
the claim of Peniston and Miller for extra work to 
county jail, the sum of five hundred dollars, be 
audited and allowed from county general fund." 

Readers who remember the low-roofed, rough 
log cabin designated "the jail," that stood on 
Front Street, a little west of the railroad depot, with 
its small barred windows and heavy door, may con- 
sider that the commissioners paid liberally for it, 
but every thing was high priced in those days. 

The log jail, like the log school house, had its as- 
sociations, and some of them are gruesome and grim. 
It often had in its keeping, cattle and horse thieves; 
murderers and assassins ; yea, criminals of all grades ; 
and upon two occasions at least, it was assailed by 
a mob of would be lynchers. One sheriff stood in its 
doorway, revolver in hand, in front of an excited mob 
wishing to wreck vengeance on a prisoner, and de- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 



oo 



elated in defiant tones, that any who crossed the 
threshold of the jail, would do so over his 
dead body. All knew he meant what he said, and 
none ventured. The old building, strong as it look- 
ed, was not over secure, and it was harder to keep 
prisoners in it, sometimes, than it was to catch and 
put them in. It had no foundation and some gained 
freedom by digging under a sill, but a favorite mode 
of escape was through the shingled roof. A venti- 
lator also served as an avenue to freedom, and slim 
fellows occasionally availed themselves of it. Es- 
capes were so frequent that it had to be patroled, 
and the cost of guarding, and supplies to the jail, 
made it an expensive institution. 

There is frequent mention in the county records 
of money paid for guarding the jail, and one entry, 
dated December 1, 1871, states that the bond of T. 
Redmond, who is to watch the jail at sixty dollars a 
month, is approved. 

During 1869 many houses were erected, and al- 
though somewhat scattered over the still open prairie, 
it was evident that the industry and frugality of rail- 
road employes, and the ever increasing traffic on 
the road, would, in course of time, make North Platte 



56 NORTH PLATTE AND 

a place of importance. Many doubted this, but wise 
ones whose faith was well founded, secured town lots 
and land in the vicinity, and turned a deaf ear to 
pessimists, and today, several in their old age benefit 
hy such investments. 

Like other frontier towns, North Platte was in- 
fested by toughs and tramps who beat their way 
from place to place on the railroad, and assaults and 
holdups were so frequent, that leading citizens got 
together and organized a Vigilent committee to which 
w^as assigned the duty of ridding the city of unde- 
sirable characters. Undersirables selected were noti- 
fied by a letter containing a rude drawing of a skull 
and cross bones, and a piece of rope -with a noose. 
The postoffice at that time was on Front Street ; and 
the late R. J. Wyman, was the postmaster. He fre- 
quently found such letters in the mails, and the par- 
ties to whom they were addressed, generally left 
town hurriedly. 

On the first of January, 1870, a newspaper call- 
ed the Platte Valley Independent appeared in the 
city, and the editor in its columns denounced the 
Vigilants for being over vigilant, and going too far 
with their system of intimidation. It is related 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 57 

that this editor, when asked about the circulation of 
his paper, said, "My paper goes every where, and it 
is as much as I can do to keep it from going to 
h — L" It did not go there, however, but to Grand Is- 
land after running one year in North Platte and has 
been published in that city ever since as the Grand 
Island Independent. 

Up to 1870, there was not a church in tow^n, but 
in that year, the Baptists, who had affiliated and 
worshipped together in private houses, appealed to 
the citizens for aid to build one, and the handsome 
sum of eight hundred and fifty dollars was subscrib- 
ed. This church was erected on the lot occupied 
by the Oddfellows' Hall, but was removed to its pres- 
ent site on Fifth street in 1874. 

Unfortunately, the records of this church are 
lost, but it is safe to state that its members were 
never numerous, and that it has had many pastors; 
and for many years, a struggling existence. At pres- 
ent it is fairly prosperous. 

When the Rev. R. B. Favoright, the present pas- 
tor, was inducted, there were but sixty-eight members, 
twenty-two of them being non-resident. This was dis- 
couraging, but by close application and zeal, he has 



58 NORTH PLATTE AND 

succeeded in the four years of his pastorate in in- 
creasing the number of adherents to one hundred and 
sixty ; only thirty-nine being non-resident. 

This congregation purchased the Unitarian prop- 
erty, corner of Fourth and Locust streets, at a cost 
of $3,000, and expect to build a church edifice on 
the site of what was at one time, the Unitarian 
Hall; the locally historic building having fallen into 
decay. 

Before coming to North Platte, Mr. Favoright 
was stationed at Berwick, 111., for nigh on three 
years. He is a native of Indiana ; being born in that 
state in 1873. Acquiring a taste for the ministry in 
early manhood, he entered Shurtleff College, Upper 
Alton, 111., in 1895, and in seven years, graduated. 
He was ordained at Atlanta, 111., in August, 1903, and 
served as student pastor of different churches for 
six years. 

The building of this, the first church in town, 
was much appreciated, and the Commissioners, in an 
endeavor to reduce the number of saloons, increased 
the fee for a liquor license from twenty-five to fifty 
dollars. 

Many needed improvements were suggested to 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 50 

the coininissioners, among them the necessity for 
a bridge over the South Platte river, the only 
bridge at the time being that of the railroad. The 
mode of crossing the North and South rivers was by 
fords, and the task at times was perilous. A ford of 
the South Platte much used by persons going to, or 
coming from Fort McPherson was below the present 
bridge; and many a wild ride drunken soldiers and 
cowboys had across it. One soldier named Thomas 
Casey, in his eagerness to cross, when the river was 
in flood, was drowned. 

After much deliberation, the Commissioners at a 
meeting held in March, 1870, ordered a special elec- 
tion to vote $30,000 in bonds for the purpose of bridg- 
ing the South Platte river near town. The election 
was held, the bonds voted, and Wells, French & Co. 
of Chicago awarded the contract to build a pile 
bridge, which they did to their own satisfaction. J. 
B. Park surveyed a road from the Union Pacific Ho- 
tel to where the bridge is, and from thence to Fort 
McPherson, and from it to a point known as Bent's 
ranch. A. J. Miller and John Hornby were County 
Commissioners at the time, and sketched a design for 
the bridge bond warrants. It was sent to J. W. Mid- 



60 NORTH PLATTE AND 

dleton, Lithographer, Chicago, to be printed from, 
but Lincoln County had no standing, and he would 
do no work for it unless paid in currency; Mr. Mil- 
ler, however, had faith in the county, and paid the 
required $105.50, and accepted a warrant for his pay. 
The first offer the Commissioners had for bridge war- 
rants was seventy cents on the dollar, but after- 
wards, seventy-seven cents was procured, and the 
Wells, French Company accepted them at that, and 
went on with the building of the bridge. 

A bridge east of town was equally requisite, and 
the Commissioners applied to S. H. Clark, assistant 
superintendent of the Union Pacific Railroad to find 
upon what terms their bridge could be used by the 
general public. They were informed that the use of 
the bridge for highway travel could be ha;d for three 
years, with the privilege of five, for the considera- 
tion of fifteen hundred dollars in Lincoln County 
warrants. The terms were accepted by the Commis- 
sioners, and thus approaches to the city from south 
and east were secured. 

Parties frequently came from the eastern states, 
to hunt buffalo, getting off the cars at North Platte 
and making their headquarters there or at Fort Mc- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 61 

Pherson. When the Indians were peaceable, soldiers 
had leisure and often accompanied hunting parties, 
or went on their own account. In the fall of 1870, a 
grand hunt was projected by General Sheridan for 
the entertainment of James Gordon Bennett, of the 
New York Herald; General Anson Stager of the 
Western Union Telegraph Company; Charles Wilson, 
editor of the Chicago Evening Journal and other dis- 
tinguished men of the period. They hunted round 
North Platte for a time, but went to Fort McPher- 
son where they were received by a company of cav- 
alry under General Embory, Major Brown and Buf- 
falo Bill. They had an extended hunt to the south 
where buffaloes Avere abundant, and where they met 
with great success. 

Many hunters went after buffalo then, with no 
other object than wanton slaughter, but others 
hunted for profit as well as sport. Hunting parties 
of citizens and soldiers often went after buffalo and 
returned from the chase rejoicing. 

It was in December, 1870, that such a party, of- 
ficered by Colonel Lieb, Major Urbain and Lieuten- 
ant Thomas of the Fort, and Lieutenant Tracy of 
the Post, returned from a foray with the spoils. In 



62 NORTH PLATTE AND 

a day and a half they killed fifty buffaloes, of which 
Buffalo Bill brought down thirty-three. They had 
six wagon loads of hams which were divided, the 
share of .the Post being twenty. 

Little w^onder that the noble Bison is extermin- 
ated, and that the buffalo hunter was succeeded by 
the hunter of buffalo bones. 

Lynching is not an inviting subject, but as one 
took place at the railroad bridge and another in 
town February, 1870, they cannot very well be omit- 
ted in these associations of North Platte. It was con- 
sidered that the Vigilants had been fairly successful 
in ridding the town of undesirable individuals, but 
when a section foreman named O'Keif was held up 
by two men armed with revolvers and robbed of 
some ninety odd dollars at the depot of the Union Pa- 
cific Railway in presence of the Company's watch- 
man; and that some time during the same night, the 
McLueas jewelry store was broken into and robbed, 
it was evident that some had been overlooked. This 
burglary seems to have been well planned and neat- 
ly executed, as nothing was found in or about the 
premises to give the least clue to the perpetrators. 
Nathan Russell was sheriff at the time, and Major 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 63 

William Woodhiirst deputy, and they were as anxious 
as any that the burglars be apprehended and pun- 
ished. 

A simple incident often leads to the detection of 
crime, and the finding of a tray that jewelers display 
their wares in, which McLucas claimed as having 
belonged to him, gave ground for the supposition 
that the burglars had dropped it while going east by 
a circuitous route. It was known that some tough 
characters had taken up their abode in an abandon- 
ed dobie or sod shack near the railroad bridge, and 
the sheriff and his deputy went to interview them. 
On their way they met a man carrying a bundle and 
searched him, but he made it evident that he was in 
no way connected with either robbery. When the 
dobie was reached, the sheriffs entered, and finding 
it occupied by two men, disarmed them and put 
them under arrest, Mr. Woodhurst telling them that 
his companion Avas sheriff and he deputy, and as a 
robbery had been committed, they had come to 
search the place. ''All right," said one, "we know 
nothing of a robbery, and have no hand in this one." 
They searched, but found nothing to criminate the 
men. Not satisfied they decided to detain the pris- 



64 NORTH PLATTE AND 

oners and inarching them to town placed them in jail, 
returning afterwards they searched more thorough- 
ly, and found the stolen jewelry under a board 
buried in the sand. Letters were also found, w^iich 
showed that the men in custody belonged to an or- 
ganized gang of thieves. When the sheriffs returned 
to town and announced that the jewelry had been 
found, great excitement prevailed. The Vigilants 
met in the log school house to discuss the situation, 
and agreed to proceed to the bridge and investigate, 
and if possible find the companion of the men in jail, 
who, as they stated, had gone hunting. Followed by 
a crowd, they proceeded along the track to the 
bridge and found the dobic unoccupied. Soon a 
man was seen coming across the bridge, who, upon be- 
ing threatened, said they were the men who robbed 
the jewlry store. Not satisfied, the questioners in- 
sisted that he tell all he knew about them. The ter- 
rified w^retch did so expecting to be released, but the 
mob was excited, and like all mobs, unreasonable, and 
on the assumption that he was one of the gang, a 
rope was produced; an end flung over the limb of a 
Cottonwood tree near the river, and in a brief space 
the victim of mob violence dangled in air. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 65 

Satisfied with what was accomplished, the 
crowd returned to town intent upon getting the two 
men confined in jail. Finding this to be no easy 
matter, Judge Daugherty was seen, and induced to 
hold court at six in the evening, and give the suppos- 
ed robbers a preliminary examination. 

A board building east of the jail served for a 
court room at that time. Court being opened with 
the usual formality the prisoners were brought in. 
The room was packed, and a mob had gathered out- 
side, the proceedings were watched with interest. 
Evidence given, proved them guilty of the robbery, 
and it soon became evident that many on the outside 
were anxious to lay hold of the prisoners. When the 
trial was about concluded, the lights were suddenly 
extinguished, and the same instant the prisoners were 
seized and dragged to the street, and one that resist- 
ed was brutally beaten on the head with the butt of 
a revolver. A leading business man with a rope in 
one hand and a revolver in the othei led the waj^ to 
a telegraph pole to the east of the jail followed by 
an orderly, but determined crowd. One of the pris- 
oners made a dash for liberty, running, as only a 
desperate man would, in the direction of the South 



66 NORTH PLATTE AND 

Platte river, and although pursued and shot at, es- 
caped. Tlie other prisoner, a powerful dark visaged 
man, neither pleaded or flinched, but walked with a 
firm step, and when the rope was being placed round 
his neck, growled, ''If you are going to hang me, 
make a good job of it, and don't hang me like a 
dog." He was hanged, and it is said the object les- 
son proved beneficial, for many toughs climbed on 
trains and got out of town. 

As already stated. Major William Woodhurst was 
deputy sheriff at the time of these lynchings. He 
kindly furnished the main facts in the foregoing ac- 
count of the disgraceful affairs. He got into com- 
munication with the father of the last victim of local 
lynch law, and forwarded to him the personal effects 
of his son, whose end did not greatly surprise him, 
for seemingly, a bad boy had developed into a bad 
man. 

It is said that the body of the man lynched in 
town was taken to Fort McPherson by an army 
surgeon for dissection and that the body of the man 
lynched at the bridge w^as secured by local doctors 
for the same purpose, and that in ripping the clothes 
off, a belt around the waist contained several hun- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 67 

dreds of dollars in bills was found. The late Dr. F. N. 
Dick was well versed in local lore, and when speaking* 
of these lynchings, would say that the story about dis- 
secting was possibly correct, but he had his doubts 
about money being found. 

The culprit who escaped from the lynchers and 
ran towards the South river was supposed to have 
gotten away, but some weeks after the lynchings, a 
cowbo}^ informed Deputy Sheriff Woodhurst that he 
had found the body of a man near Fremont Slough. 
Upon investigation, it Avas found to be that of the 
escaped prisoner. Dr. Dick, who examined the body, 
said, the man had been shot through the arm and 
had bound the wound with a handkerchief, but the 
wound was slight, and not sufficient to cause death; 
but having forded the river in his terror and fear 
of pursuit, he had been so chilled that he succumbed 
and died from exposure. 

Several who took an active part in these lynch- 
ings are dead, and others have moved away, but he 
who placed the rope round the neck of one of the 
victims, lives, and bitterly regrets that he got mixed 
up in the disgraceful affair. 

The tree at the bridge upon which tlie unfortun- 



68 NORTH PLATTE AND 

ate man was lynched, despite his pleading, has long 
since disappeared, but it was looked at with super- 
stitious awe by many for it was supposed that a 
curse clings to a tree upon which a man has been 
hanged, and that it withers and dies. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 69 



CHAPTER V. 
Indians steal horses. — Soldiers give chase — Kate Man- 
ning murder. — Her brother arrested.. — A mob at 
the jail. — Soldiers called. — Brick making. — First 
brick buildings. — The old grave yard. — Hinman 
remains. — The new cemetery. — Col J. B. Park 
dies. — The Episcopal church and history. — The 
Unitarian Hall and associations. — Grasshoppers. — 
St. Patrick's church and pastors. — The parson- 
age burns. 



Indians seldom hesitated to appropriate the prop- 
erty of white settlers when the prospect of escaping 
with the booty was favorable. 

On a Sunday morning in March, 1871, the late 
M. C. Keith had thirteen head of horses grazing be- 
tween the section house and the Cody residence, 
when, to the surprise of witnesses, eight Indians rode 
furiously toward the herd, rounded it up, and drove 
westward at a rapid pace. An alarm was given, and 



70 NORTH PLATTE AND 

as soon as Major Brown, who was stationed aj the 
Post with, a company of the Fifth Cavalry was in- 
formed, he ordered his men out and. gave chase; but 
the Indians, having a good start were seen far ahead, 
apparently making for a ford of the North river about 
seven miles from town. When the soldiers reached 
the ford, the Indians w^ere disappearing in the hills 
with the stolen horses. Nothing daunted, the pursu- 
ers foUow^ed until darkness hid the trail. A fall of 
snow completely covered it by morning, and Major 
Brown gave up the chase and returned with his men, 
all hungry and tired. 

On the afternoon of the day on which the horses 
were driven off, three Indians and a squaw came to 
town from a camp of ninetj^ lodges camped on the 
Republican near Blackwood Creek, and asked for tra- 
ders, stating that they had five hundred robes, and 
that Red Cloud and Spotted Tail and all Indians ex- 
cept the Winnebagos are going down there if they 
can get permits; and that buffalo blacken the prairie 
from near North Platte, to Smoky Hill fork. They 
were asked about the morning raid, and said that 
three days ago they came upon a camp of eight Win- 
nebagos who had mistreated them the previous win- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 71 

ter, and they had no doubt tliat they were tlie In- 
dians that ran off the horses. There was every 
possibility of their story being correct, but the 
horses were never recovered. In this narrative we 
have a glimpse of the wilds of Lincoln County dur- 
ing the early seventies and the buffalo that blacken- 
ed the prairie. 

''The guilty fleeth when no man pursueth/' so 
many loafers with no visible means of earning a live- 
lihood, impressed by the significance of the lynchings 
got out of town, and people began to go round at all 
hours without fear of being molested. This tranquil- 
ity, however, did not last long, for, on the morning 
of April 9, 1871, a young woman named Kate Man- 
ning was found dead on the claim she had been hold- 
ing down, a little southeast of town. It was evident- 
ly a murder, but as Kate was w^ell known and re- 
spected, and had no enemies, the c[uestion was, who 
committed the deed? Major William Woodhurst was 
sheriff at the time and he speedly had the case in 
hand. To find a clew, the ground about the tent or 
shanty w^as examined, and footprints in soft soil 
evidently made by some one wearing a peculiar shoe 
were observed. Kate's brother Pete, who kept a sa- 



72 NORTH PLATTE AND 

loon on Front Street, had a deformed foot, and he 
was arrested on suspicion and placed in jail. Being 
of a happy disposition, and a general favorite, no one 
believed him capable of committing such a deed; how- 
ever, he had threatened to ''jump" his sister *s claim, 
and this and other circumstances wove a net of cir- 
cumstantial evidence around him. The shoe he wore 
on his deformed foot was found to fit the impression 
in the soft soil so neatly that he was accused of the 
murder. Lynching was openly spoken of, and a mob 
of some 300 citizens assembled in front of the jail. 
Leaders of the previous mob were on hand, and one 
of them — a then prominent citizen, but now dead — 
walked up to the door and knocked. Mrs. Woodhurst 
opened it and asked what was wanted. Being told 
they wanted admittance to the room in which Pete 
Manning was confined, she said Mr. Woodhurst was 
from home, but a well armed deputy was inside pre- 
pared to protect the prisoner, and if any one enters 
the jail he would do so at his own risk. Mrs. Wood- 
hurst's calm demeanor surprised the crowd, and with 
true American politeness, a deference was shown the 
feminine defender that would not have been ac- 
corded the sheriff or his deputy. At this stage, an- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 73 

other leader stepped forward and said: "We do not 
wish any one hurt, but we are going- to get Manning." 
'If you want Manning/' Mrs. Woodhurst replied, 
' ' get him in a legal way ; but I think you had better 
go home to your wife, for 1 know she never would 
sanction you leading a mob." With this admonition 
she went inside, closing and bolting the door. 

In the meantime Sheriff Woodhurst returned and 
comprehending the situation, went to the Commander 
of the Post and asked for a guard to protect the jail. 
This was granted, and the leaders of the mob changed 
their tactics and presented a petition asking him to 
turn Manning over to them, and censuring him for 
protecting a murderer. His reply to this was, that 
being sheriff it was his duty to protect the prisoner, 
and he would do so. Not to be foiled and lest Man- 
ning should be spirited away, the citizens put a guard 
at the jail to prevent him being removed without 
their knowledge. This state of affairs continued for 
five days, to the annoyance of Major Brown and the 
sheriff, but the sheriff was equal to the occasion, and 
procuring a soldier's uniform caused Manning to put 
it on in the morning and march to the Post with the 
guard when it was relieved. The scheme worked, and 



74 NORTH PLATTE AND 

in this way he was taken to Fort McPherson guard- 
ed by soldiers, to be kept until called for. 

The Vigilants soon discovered that the prisoner 
was gone and where he had been taken to, and sent a 
committee to Port McPherson to w^ait on General 
Embory and demand the surrender of Manning. When 
the general was informed of their mission, he told 
them that he would give them ten minutes to get off 
the reservation, and they did so without demonstrance. 
When a week had passed, Sheriff Woodhurst went to 
the fort and brought Manning to North Platte and 
put him in jail, but there was no further trouble, the 
excitement having subsided. 

Manning had a hearing and stoutly maintained 
his innocence, declaring that he was in no way con- 
nected with the murder of his sister. Circumstan- 
tial evidence, was strongly against him and he was 
committed for trial, but owing to local prejudice was 
granted change of venue to Grand Island. After a 
trial that lasted several days, he was acquitted and 
returned to North Platte, financially and physical- 
ly ruined, and after a seige of ill health, died within 
three years. 

Manning's bar-tender was suspected of being 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 75 

implicated in the murder, or having a guilty knowl- 
edge of it, and although arrested and examined 
there was no evidence to connect him with the crime, 
and he was turned loose. The citizens, however, were 
not satisfied, and the Vigilants w^aylaid him and tried 
to induce him to make a confession, and to empha- 
size the request, produced a rope and used him rough- 
ly, but to no purpose. Although threatened with 
death, he denied all knowledge of the crime, and 
maintained that he knew nothing about the guilt or 
innocence of "Pete'.' Manning; where he was, or 
what he did on the night of the murder. If he knew, 
he kept his own council, and who murdered Kate 
Manning remains an unsolved mystery. 

The Manning incident past, quietness and order 
again reigned in the city. Houses w^ere built at inter- 
vals, mostly by Railroad men; for to their frugality, 
the phenomenal growth of North Platte is mainly 
due. 

The cost of building material greatly retarded 
the erection of homes. The making of brick from 
clay found in the neighborhood of the city had been 
thought of and tried, but with no great success; yet, 
on April 17, 1872, A. M. Oliver, then road supervisor, 



76 NORTH PLATTE AND 

appeared before the Commissioners and proposed to 
burn a kiln of one hundred thousand brick made of 
clay found near town, and to test its capability, ask- 
ed them to advance him the sum of two hundred and 
tAventy-five dollars. Said brick, he averred, could be 
profitably made and deliA^ered for fifteen dollars a 
thousand. The Commissioners did not comply with 
the request, but promised to take it into considera- 
tion. The result was, they concluded to offer a re- 
ward of five hundred dollars for the first five thou- 
sand good merchantable brick made of clay found in 
the vicinity of North Platte. On May 31, 1873, A. 
T. Gillet appeared before the Commissioners and 
claimed the reward. To qu )te from the County Rec- 
ords: "The Commissioners and many citizens having 
gone and examined the kiln of brick burnt by A. H. 
Gillet, was fully satisfied that said brick are as good 
as are made in the State of Nebraska, and the Com- 
missioners order that said A. H. Gillet be paid the 
$500 reward for making the first 5,000 merchant- 
able brick in the county." 

The first brick house in the city w^as built by A. 
H. Gillet, and still stands on the corner of East 4th 
and Pine streets, and after its erection brick began 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 77 

to be used as building material to a degree that 
changed the architectural features of the city; all 
stores, public buildings and a few residences being 
constructed of the material. The Smallwoods, Wil- 
kinsons and others, tried to make brickmaking a busi- 
ness, but owing to the cost of fuel and the difficulty 
to find proper clay it could not be made profitable, 
and the making of brick is now a vanished local in- 
dustry. 

In the early seventies, dwelling houses were some- 
what scattered, but none of them were far from 
Front Street. The corner of 4th and Locust Streets 
at that time was on the outskirt of town, and there 
North Platte's first burying ground was spread out. 
It extended south into the lot now occupied b}^ the 
Peniston house and west beyond the old home of 
Joseph McConnell. There was a number of unmarked 
graves, but a few were indicated by small memorial 
stones and boards; and as late as 1881 several re- 
mained, but the street grader swept them away, and 
the traffic on Fourth Street rumbles over the re- 
mains of persons whose identity is forgotten. In 
digging a trench for a main pipe in 1887, waterworks 
workmen unearthed human bones and pieces of cof- 



78 NORTH PLATTE AND 

fins, and, it is affirmed, the bodies of two soldiers 
who probably died at the Post; and in digging a cel- 
lar on the McConnell lot, a much decayed coffin con- 
taining bones was found ,and Fred Marti frequently 
found remnants of mortality under the soil near his 
dwelling. 

Old residents fail to remember when this burying 
ground began to be, but undoubtedly, like other 
frontier towns, some one had to get killed before a 
graveyard could be started ,and this one, according 
to A. J. Miller, had its beginning in like manner. It 
seems that early in 1867, a would be bad man got 
crazy drunk, and flourishing his revolver endeavored 
to find trouble. Failing, he threw it on the ground 
which it no sooner hit than it exploded and killed 
him. That this man was the first buried there, is 
possibly correct, but at least two ''old timers" af- 
firm that there were graves there when he was buried 
and they were supposed to be of persons murdered 
by Indians, and travelers who died on the way when 
going west in search of wealth. Be that as it may, 
it is said that many men lie there who died with 
their boots on in days when every man carried a re- 
volver and was not slow to use it when fired by pas- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 79 

sion and whisky. That the people of North Platte 
buried their dead there is well known, and also that 
a few bodies were moved to the new cemetery when 
the town began to encroach. 

Probably the last person buried in the old bury- 
ing ground was a prominent Free Mason named 
Richard Ormsby who died at Fort McPherson on the 
11th of January, 1870, and was interred the follow- 
the day with Masonic Honors. 

The funeral was the largest ever seen in North 
Platte, there being one hundred and twenty-five 
present. The funeral services were conducted by the 
Rev. Rees of Fort McPherson, and at their conclusion 
the Free Masons engaged in their solemn ceremony. 

It is stated in the County Records that a depu- 
tation waited on the Commissioners and asked them 
to have the bodies in the old graveyard exhumed and 
buried elsewhere, but after giving the request due 
consideration, they concluded they had no jurisdic- 
tion. 

An increasing population soon made a cemetery 
beyond the city limits an absolute necessity, and a 
meeting of citizens w^as held on December 13, 1872, 
to talk the matter over. The result was that Jona- 



80 NORTH PLATTE AND 

than Rogers was elected temporary chairman; R. C. 
Daugherty, secretary, and B. I. Hinman, treasurer. 
Matters being so far arranged, another meeting was 
held on June 13, 1873, and at it the North Platte 
Cemetery Association Avas organized, and an ar- 
rangement made that five acres of land be purchased 
from Franklin Peale at twenty dollars an acre, and 
that the purchase money draw ten per cent in- 
terest until i)aid. Also, that the price of double 
lots in the cemetery be twenty dollars, and single 
ones ten. 

John F. Kramph was the first man buried in the 
new cemetery, and Kate Manning the first woman, 
Mr. Kramph is remembered as being diligent, and 
of a genial sympathetic disposition. Kate had many 
friends, and her tragic and untimely death evoked 
much sympathy. A marble slab erected to her mem- 
ory, states that she ''died May 9th, 1871, aged 27 
years, 10 months and 15 days" Her grave was long- 
attended to and kept neat, but it is now forgotten, 
covered with rank grass, and the slab lies broken in- 
to. 

In August, 1881, the Association purchased ten 
ac};es of land adjoining the cemetery from Mrs. AV. F. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 81 

Co(\y to make a much needed extension, as the re- 
pository of the city's dead was slowly ])ut surely 
])ecomiing inadequate. 

At this date, the cemetery presents a some- 
what hleak appearance, having been swept by 
prairie fires on several occasions. There are many 
tasteful memorial stones and neatly kept graves, but 
the neglected and forgotten predominate. 

The cemetery books were long kept without 
method or order, and on this account, the number of 
interments is unknown, but since they came into the 
hands of George French, entries are made in a way 
that the identity of persons buried can be ascertain- 
ed, and their graves located. 

It was on June 27, 1873, that the eyes of Col. 
Josiah B. Park, a popular pioneer citizen, were 
closed in everlasting sleep after a somewhat event- 
ful and arduous life. He was born April 1, 1831, and 
served in the Fourth Michigan Cavalry ,and saw 
much active service during the war of the rebellion, 
and it is supposed that his death was accelerated 
by wounds he then received. 

He came to Omaha with his family in August, 
1866, and soon thereafter procured surveying con- 



82 NORTH PLATTE AND 

tracts from the Government. The pursuit of his pro- 
fession brought him to western Nebraska, and it is 
said that in his time he drove corner stakes for 
nearly every section in Lincoln and adjacent coun- 
ties; and that one day he stepped out on a bluff 
overlooking "The Points" and unexpectedly beheld 
the waters of the North and South Platte rivers 
meet and mingle, and a long stretch of the Platte Val- 
ley in all its primitive beauty. He was a lover of 
Nature, and the scene so impressed him that he long- 
ed to locate in it, or in its immediate vicinity, and 
at once began to seek a location, and this is what in- 
duced him to homes^tead land in the immediate vi- 
cinity of North Platte as narrated in the second chap- 
ter. Like most men, he had hobbies, and his chief 
one was irrigation. This he put to the best by convey- 
ing water by ditch to his claim from the South 
Platte river, and demonstrated that crops could be 
successfully grown on the then arid soil of Nebraska 
by the application of moisture. 

He was accomplished in many ways, and had a 
taste for literature as well as for agriculture. He is- 
sued the ''Lincoln County Advertiser," a success- 
ful newspaper that held the field for some time, but 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 83 

surveying was his forte, and his services were often 
called for by the Government, the Union Pacific 
Railway Company and the County. 

He left a widow and two children, a boy about 
thirteen, and a girl about twelve who died. The boy, 
William Lee Park, went braking out of North Platte 
at the early age of sixteen. He worked diligently, 
saving what he could from his earnings until he got 
sufficient money to enable him to take a course at 
Baylie's Commercial College at Keokuk, Iowa. At 
the age of eighteen he was promoted to freight con- 
ductor, and at twenty-two was permanently assigned 
a like position on a passenger train. All along he 
made railroading a study, and labored assiduously to 
master its intricacy. At thirty, he was appointed As- 
sistant Superintendent of the Union Pacific Railway 
at North Platte, and in 1900 was given charge of the 
Wyoming division, and in February, 1904, was made 
General Superintendent. At this date, 1910, he is 
Vice President of the Illinois Central Railway ; and 
such is the remarkable career of a North Platte boy 
whose only capital was confidence in himself and the 
diligent discharge of duties assigned him. 

The Episcopalians built a small frame church on 



84 NORTH PLATTE AND 

West Fourth street in 1873, when the district was 
sparsely built up. Tliis church was moved in 1892, 
and replaced by the present building, which is some- 
what imposing in ajipearance. Internally, it is com- 
pact and neat, and the stained glass windows Avitli 
which it is adorned, shed a hallowed light. The most 
conspicuous is one to the memory of Susan C. Keith, 
a founder of the parish, who died September 2o, 
1877; and another over the altar, to the memory of 
John McNamara, D. D., a former rector, who died, 
October 24, 1885, aged sixty years. 

Dr. McNamara entered upon his duties as pastor 
of this church September 21, 1884, and ministered un- 
til the time of his death. He was highly esteemed, 
and under his care, the parish prospered. He was 
born in County Down, Ireland, December 27, 1825, 
He served during the civil war in the First Wiscon- 
sin Volunteer Infantry, and was afterwards assistant 
rector. Church of the Holy Communion, New Yorlv 
City, and cliaplain of St. Luke's Hospital, New York, 
1875, and President of Nebraska College, Nebraska 
City, 1882, previous to coming to North Platte. 

This church Avhieh bears the name of the Chur. h 
of Our Saviour, like other churches in the city, liad 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 



85 




m 




Episcopal Church, North Platte. 



86 NORTH PLATTE AND 

its beginning in the harmony of beliefs and ideas, 
which in some way influence people to combine and 
worship together, as Avill be seen from the following 
excerpt from its neatly kept records : 

The first services of this church were held by 
Bishop Clarkson in a room of the Union Pacific Hotel 
before a missionary was appointed. The dates of 
these services were about 1869-70. 

The Rev. John Lyon, missionary at Grand Island 
held services during 1870-4, and the families promi- 
nently connected with the church, were those of M. 
C. Keith, Mr. W. J. Patterson, and also Mrs. Mary E. 
Kramph. 

Mr. Patterson and Mr. Richard Rogers were the 
first wardens, and were appointed, probably in 1872. 

The Union Pacific Railroad Company gave the 
half block of ground on which the church is erected, 
and a prominent citizen gave Bishop Clarkson fif- 
teen hundred dollars privately, towards the cost of 
erecting a church building. This fact was made 
known to Mr. William Patterson by the Rev. John 
Lyon immediately. Mr. Patterson prepared a sub- 
scription paper, and in a few hours secured eight hun- 
dred dollars. A pencilling on the wall of vestry 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 87 

room read as follows: ''This church was consecrated 
by the Right Reverend Robert H. Clarkson on the 
festival of the Ascension, 1873." Beach I. Hinman, 
M. C. Keith and William Patterson were amongst 
those that gave the most liberally. The ladies of the 
town led by Mrs. M.C. Keith, Avere untiring in their 
labors for the church from the first. 

Early in the year 1874, the Rev. Frank E. Bullard 
deacon, was appointed bj^ Bishop Clarkson to take 
charge of the perish. This registry of official acts 
began during his pastorship. The last official acts of 
Mr. Bullard in the parish were done in July, 1879. 

During 1880, the Rev. A. J. Graham of Grand 
Island frequently visited the parish, his visits 
were highly appreciated. It was during the vacancy 
of the rectorship, that the ladies led in a movement 
for a rectory. 

Early in the year 1881, the Rev. W. G. Hawkins 
of central New York was called to the rectorship. 
The people became very earnest in church work. 
Mrs Mary Nichols, Miss Mollie Keith and Mr. H. N. 
Jones are at this time specially noted. The Ladies' 
Church Guild accomplished much good. The rec- 
tory was completed at a cost of about $3,000. The 



SS N(3UTn PLATTE AND 

ladies secnricg at least $1,000, Mrs. Mary Nichols 
bestowing much necessary furniture. 

The Clarkson seliool was set on foot — the build- 
ing cost $800. 

In February, 1882, a great desire was expressed 
that the Rev. A. J. Graham might be secured to take 
the rectorship, the Rev. W G. Hawkins having re- 
signed, but his health would not allow him to accept. 

The parish remained vacant from February, 1882, 
until the following October, when the Rev. Alexander 
Allen of Dorcas, Toronto, Canada, was called. Mr. 
Allen resigned at Easter, 1883. The parish remained 
vacant from the latter date, until KSeptember, 1884, 
when John McNamara, D. D. was called. The parish 
was very prosperou:; under his care, but on October 
24, 1885, he died suddenly from a stroke of paralysis. 
The Rev. John II. Babcock of Red Oak, Iowa, accept- 
ed the call, and entered upon his duties, December 23, 
1885, and resigned. May 26, 1886, having been sent 
by the bishop to take charge of the work at Sidney, 
Nebraska. 

The parish continued without service until No- 
vember 6, wlien the Rev. John M. Bates of Topeka. 
Kansas, at the invitation of Bishop Worthiugton, as- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 89 

sullied charge of the parish, on November L5. He re- 
ceived and accepted a call to take charge of St. 
Paul's Mission in the city of Omaha. At the bishop's 
suggestion, and invitation of the vestry, the Rev. 
George Grimes spent the month of September 1888, in 
ministering to the parish, and accepted a call to the 
rectorship at a salary of $1000 per annum, together 
with the use of the rectory, and entered upon his 
duties. He found almost sixty communicants. Fre- 
quent and long vacancies in the rectorship had left 
matters in a disorganized state, and the people more 
or less scattered, but lively interest induced them to 
draw together. A large guild of ladies was formed, 
and work began immediately and the rectory was re- 
paired and put in a satisfactory condition for occu- 
pancy. 

A Sunday school was organized with sixteen pu- 
pupils in September, 1888, and by Easter day, 1890, 
they numbered sixty-f^ve, and the parish was in a 
united and flourishing condition. Since that time, 
the Episcopal church has been progressive, and a 
moral influence in the city. It has had several able 
and popular rectors who have aided to build up a con- 
gregation that includes many prominent families. 



90 NORTH PLATTE AND 

Presently, 1910, there are 250 communicants, and 220 
scholars attending two Sunday schools connected 
with the church. 

The present rector, the Rev. C. F. Chapman, B. 
A. B. D., was appointed to the charge October 13, 
1905. Mr. Chapman was born at Piedmont, West Vir- 
ginia, on the 17th of April, 1872, where his father, 
the late Ephraim Chapman, practiced medicine but 
afterwards removed with his parents to Keyser, W. 
v., ^where he spent his boyhood. When ten years 
old, his father died, and his mother, himself, and 
three other children were reft of a loving protector. 
After the bereavement, Mrs. Chapman and children 
lived with her father, Mr. John Russell of Berlin, 
Pennsylvania, where Mr. Chapman graduated from 
the public school and acquired a trade. Being of a 
studious disposition and cultured mind, he took a pre- 
liminary course, and entering college at Deal-ware, 
Ohio, graduated in 1895 with the degree of B. A., and 
after spending three years at Bexley Theological 
school, was ordained to the deaconate, and in 1899, 
to the priesthood of the Episcopal church; and short- 
ly thereafter was appointed rector of Emmanual 
church, Cincinnati, Ohio, and coming to Nebraska, 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 91 

assumed charge of Christ Church, Central City, May 1 
1902, and the same year, married Miss Carry Garlick, 
of Cincinnati. 

The snug parsonage, adjacent to the church, is 
occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Chapman and their three 
healthful children. Mr. Chapman is justly popular, 
and esteemed by his congregation and the general 
public. 

It is safe to state that the Rev. George A. 
Beecher, who was rector of this church for eight 
years, was the most popular clergyman, in and out 
of the church the town ever had. He was born at 
Monmouth, Illinois, in 1868, and came with his par- 
ents to Kearney, Nebraska, when fourteen years old. 
He attended the University of Nebraska from 1886 
to 1889, and then the Divinity school at Philadelphia, 
graduating in 1892. He was ordained to the deacon- 
ic in 1892, and went to Fort Sidney, where he was 
stationed until 1895. Being ordained to the priest- 
hood, he was called to the pastorate of the Church of 
Our Saviour, and from this charge was transferred to 
St. Luke's church, Kearney, and from thence to 
Omaha in 1904 as dean of Trinity Cathedral. In that 
city he distinguished himself as a leading sociologist ; 



92 NORTH PLATTE AND 

for in every field of charitable work among the poor, 
and in every endeavor to improve their condition, 
and rescue children from paths of vice and crime, 
Dean Beecher was active. In October, 1910, he was 
appointed bishop of Kearney, an honor, universally 
conceded, he well merits. 

Up to 1873, North Platte had no hall or suitable 
place in which to hold meetings or entertainments, 
and the few Unitarians who had gathered round Mrs. 
E. J. Cogswell, a missionary of the faith, concluded 
to erect a building that would serve for a public hall 
and place of worship This they did at a cost of 
$3,300, and it became known as the Unitarian hall. 
It still stands, battered and weatherworn at the cor- 
ner of West Fourth and Locust streets, and has 
passed through many vicissitudes. Unitarianism was 
never popular in North Platte, and the consequence 
was, that adherants were few, and funds scant. The 
American Unitarian association gave liberal financial 
aid, and sent several pastors in an endeavor to es- 
tablish a church, but limited audiences and an un- 
certain salary were not encouraging and none of 
them remained long. This small body of christians 
struggled along for years, some times with a pastor 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS ' 93 

but more often witliout, until it became almost ex- 
tinct. Archibald K. Adamson endeavored to rally lo- 
cal Unitarians avIio had become indifferent, and suc- 
ceeded in keeping a congregation together for a 
lengthened period, but he was the last to conduct serv- 
ices in the hall under the Unitarian banner, for dis- 
sention caused disruption, and in 1902 the property 
got into the hands of a very few who sold it and ap- 
propriated the money. It was by Mrs. Cogswell's un- 
wearied zeal that money was raised to pay for the 
building, and it is questionable if they who profited 
by the sale ever contributed a cent. The parties in 
that deal will doubtless feel small when they meet 
Mrs. Cogswell ''in the sweet by and by," for it was 
a poor requital for her devotion and labor. 

As already stated, Mrs. E. J. Cogswell came to 
North Platte in 1838 and organized the first Sun- 
day school. She afterwards engaged in teaching 
and missionary work, and held religious meetings 
before there were any resident ministers. She also 
taught music and singing, and performed funeral 
services in the absence of a clergyman, and was first 
and foremost in all enterprises for the improvement 
of the people. Many friends in the east were inter- 



94 NORTH PLATTE AND 

ested in her work, and contributed books for her Sun- 
day school, money for the support of the church, and 
clothing for destitute families. She was always plan- 
ning to help the uniortunate and suffering, and ready 
to render service 'to others. Owing to failing health, 
she returned to her early home in Lexington, Mas- 
sachusetts, and after two years of feebleness, died 
on the 23rd of July, 1897. Her devotion to the I^ni- 
tarian faith continued to the last, and it is to be re- 
gretted that the latter days of her life were embit- 
tered by the knowledge that her work at North 
Platte was a failure. ^ 

1874 is memorable as the year of the first grass- 
hopper plague in Nebraska. The pest came in clouds 
and ate up every green thing. The grasshoppers cov- 
ered the ground to a depth of from two to three 
inches, and on occasions the Union Pacific railway 
trains were stopped, the moisture from the crushed 
bodies of the hoppers on the rails causing wheels to 
slip. This visitation caused great destitution amongst 
farmers and homesteaders, and in response to an ap- 
peal for aid to the ever generous American people, 
food and clothing were sent from the east to Ne- 
braska and neighboring states. In 1875 the plague 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 95 

was not so virulent, but in 1876, grasshoppers cloud- 
ed the sky and obscured the sun; trees being strip- 
ped of leaves the prairie of grass and crops de- 
voured. Again destitution ensued, and again a gen- 
erous public responded to an appeal for aid. 

In the fall of 1875, the Knights of Pythias erected 
a two-story building for a hall which was much ad- 
mired at the time, but it has undergone many intern- 
al changes, and the Knights are no longer a popular 
order in North Platte. 

No body of christians are so attached to their 
church as Catholics, and no clergy so devoted and' self- 
sacrificing as theirs. Early in 1867 when North 
Platte was remote, and far from civilization. Father 
Ryan of Columbus came and sought out Catholics and 
celebrated mass in a sod house west of the depot, and 
a gentleman who was present states that he believed 
it to have been the first mass celebrated in the dis- 
trict. Afterwards, he came at intervals and offi- 
ciated until the appointment of Father Lynch in 1875. 
Father Lynch was the first resident priest, and it was 
mainly through his exertion that St. Patrick's church, 
a neat frame building, was erected. In 1880, he was 
succeeded by Father Conway, and it was during the 



96 



NORTH PLATTE AND 







ITS ASSOCIATIONS 



\)i 



Rev. Conway's incumbency that the frame cliurt h 
was removed and the present brick church and par- 
sonage built at a cost of $10,000. Several clergy- 
men have succeeded the Rev. Conway, notably, Fa- 
thers 0. Tool, Fitzgerald, McCarthy and Haley. The 
present incumbent is the Rev. Steven F. Carrol. The 
old frame church, converted into a school, stands near 
the new church. 

In 1879 the parsonage caught fire and came 
near being consumed. There was no fire brigade in 
those days. When a fire occurred the Union Pa- 
cific shop whistle blew and everybody grabbed a 
bucket or other utensil and ran, and in brief space 
every pump in the neighborhood w^as brought into 
requisition. This fire was valiently fought and extin- 
guished, but not before great damage was done and 
the building rendered untenantable. The Rev. Burns 
w^as officiating at t'.he church at the time, and re- 
sided at the home of Mrs. Dwyer on Front street un- 
til repairs were made, and received the care and at- 
tention the delicate state of his health required. 

Next to the Dwyer home was a notorious saloon 

kept by two burly Irishmen named Brady which was 

. a resort of cowboys and the rough etement of the 



98 NORTH PLATTE AND 

town. The cowboys would often ride up and down 
in front of the saloon, and by whoops, yells and fir- 
ing- revolvers in the air, render night hidious. People 
thought little of this, but the Rev.' Burns being sick, 
the kindly heart of Mrs. Dwyer sympathised with 
him, and fearing the unusual noise of a particular 
night disturbed her patient, she went into the saloon 
and asked the Brady's to induce ''the boys" to' quiet 
down. They blankly refused. ''Have you no respect 
for the clergy?" she asked. "We have," said they, 
"but we will not have our business interfered with." 
Mrs. Dwyer informed the invalid of her interview 
with the Brady's, and he languidly said, "Never, mind 
Mrs. Dwyer, the green grass will grow on the place 
where their saloon now stands." And so it came to 
pass. The Brady 's did not live a great while after, 
and where their saloon stood is now a blue grass 
lawn. 

Mrs. Dwyer was a benevolent, kind-hearted soul, 
but she now rests in our cemetery with other pio- 
neers. 

At that time, the Union Pacific shops being un- 
usually busy, industrious workmen prospered, and the 
town continued to grow. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 99 



CHAPTER VI. 

First Mayor and City Council. — Court House built. — 
Second city election. — Women debarred from sa- 
loons. — First grading of streets. — Third city 
election. — James Belton elected mayor — Condition 
of city streets. — North Side in 1878. — ^An Indian 
scare. — Presbyterian church history. — The town 
goes dry. — First sidewalks. — Keith block and its 
associations. — McDonald block and first bank in 
city. — The M. E. church and its pastors. 



There were two factions in North Platte in 1874. 
One held that the simple method of early days by 
which the city was governed was satisfactory, and 
the other, that it would be moreso if a mayor and 
city council elected by the people conducted local af- 
fairs. Details of the controversy being of little im- 
portance at this date, it is sufficient to state that 
North Platte had the population and standing at the 
time to entitle it to municipal government, and that 



100 NORTH PLATTE AND 

the popular party apt>lied for a charter and got it. 
There was little to attract public attention in those 
days, and the novelty of a local election caused con- 
siderable excitement. Candidates were put forward, 
an election held, and the following gentlemen chosen 
to fill city offices: Anthony Hies, mayor; Alexander 
Struther, treasurer; E. H. Barrett, clerk; A. H. 
Church, judge ; A.Walker, marshal; J. W. LaMunyon, 
engineer. 

Councilmen — First ward, W. J. Patterson, and 
J. D, Wilson; Second ward, Russell Watts and E. D. 
Thoelecke; Third Avard, Claus Mylander and W. C. 
Bogue. Anthony Ries took his seat as mayor, April 
14, 1875, and preside^d at the first council meeting 
held at North Platte. This council had much to 
contend with, and accomplished little in the way of 
city improvements during its brief term of office. 

Early in 1876 the court house was finished and 
turned over to the commissioners. It was pro- 
nounced a well arranged, imposing building, which it 
certainly was at the time, but times have changed, 
and so have the requirements of Lincoln county, and 
what was never dreamt of, it is now in the heart of 
the city. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 101 

The second election of city officers was held in 
1876, and resulted as follows : Anthony Ries, mayor ; 
J. Rogers, treasurer; E. H. Barrett, clerk; W. S. 
Peniston, police judge; A. L Walker, marshal, J. W. 
LaMunyon, engineer, 

Councilmen — First ward, W. J. Patterson and 
J. Schatz; Second ward, W. F. Wright and A. J. 
Miller ; Third ward, W. C. Bogue and George F. Snell- 
ing. 

At the first meeting of this council, the mayor 
drew attention to the condition of the streets, sev- 
eral being almost impassable after rain, and urged 
that vice in every form be suppressed. There was 
ample room for reform, for saloons were numerous, 
and women of questionable character frequented them, 
and it was nothing unusual to see cowboys and maid- 
ens fair having '*a high old time" in such places in 
full view of passers by. After appointing commit- 
tees, the mayor selected Bogue, Miller and Schatz to 
frame "An ordinance to prohibit lewd women from 
entering or visiting saloons. "' This was done and ap- 
proved, and became law January 16, 1877, and no 
ordinance has been so rigorously enforced or ob- 
served, for women are never seen in or around such 



102 NORTH PLATTE AND 

places in North Platte. 

It was during this council's administration that 
city streets were first graded, and the first sidewalks 
and crossings laid down. The members had high as- 
pirations, and had a scheme to beautify the city with 
a system of irrigation ditches, water to be obtained 
from the north 'river, but after careful sur- 
veying the city, engineer .pronounced the scheme 
impracticable. 

The election of candidates for municipal honors 
to serve during the year 1877 was spirited, and re- 
sulted in the following gentlemen being elected: W. 
M. Hinman, mayor; J. Rogers, treasurer; E, H. Bar- 
rett, clerk ; W. S. Peniston, police judge ; G. Butter- 
field, marshal; J. W. LaMunyon, engineer. 

Councilmen — First ward, J. Worthley and J. 
Schatz; Second ward, Charles McDonald and A. Fer- 
guson; Third ward, W. C. Bogue and George Mason, 

This council found little money in the treasury, 
and being unable to make many city improvements 
were caustically criticised; a petition signed by 
James Belton and sixty-seven others calling for its 
''total abrogation" being presented. This petition 
did not worry the council, for after being read, it 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 103 

was "laid on the table" and the council went plod- 
ding along undeterred until the time came for it to 
step down and out. 

At the somewhat hotly contested election of city 
officers to serve during the year 1878, James Belton 
was elected mayor with a majority of 168 votes; T. 
J. Foley, treasurer; T. Keliher, clerk; A. H. Church, 
police judge ; Samuel Watts, engineer. 

Councilmen elected were : First ward, J. Worth- 
ly and J. Schatz; Second ward, James Babbitt and 
Charles McDonald; Third ward, George Mason and 
Goodale. 

When James Belton took his seat as mayor of 
North Platte, April 15, 1878, the few streets of the 
city most frequented were in a deplorable condition 
with mud and filth after rain. A resolution pre- 
sented to the council in the spring of that year gives 
a graphic word picture of their appearance. It fol- 
lows : 

"Resolved by Charles McDonald that the present 
condition of Locust street, between Fourth and Front 
streets, and of Fifth street, between Locust and the 
southeast corner of the government post is a stand- 
ing disgrace to our fair city, being a nuisance that 



104 NORTH PLATTE AND 

should be at once abated. Therefore, resolved that 
the committee on streets and bridges be, and they 
are hereby authorized, and made their duty to pro- 
ceed at once and have said streets well repaired by 
ditches, bridges and putting in cross-walks so that 
the citizens of our city may be able to travel those 
streets, and the frog ponds of filthy, stagnent water 
be dried up.'' 

This resolution was adopted, but it does not ap- 
pear that it was ever put in force, however, in iti we 
have a glimpse of the city streets as they were in 
1878. 

There were few dwelling houses on the north side 
then, but among the residents were "W. C. Bogue, S. 
W. Bye, Clause Mylander, the Frazers and VanDor- 
ans. It may be remarked that Mylander planted 
the first trees on the north side, and that they were 
a land mark for many years. For a long time there 
were no other trees, and the scene, east, west and 
north was uninviting prairie containing many sloughs 
and marshes difficult to cross, but the council re- 
modled this by having foot bridges built. 

During the Belton administration, the Indians 
got on the warpath, and committed deeds of rapine 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS lOo 

in the district no great distance from the city. For 
home protection, a body of citizens called the Noith 
Platte Guards was organized. These patriots were 
commanded by Major North of Pawnee fame, and 
had John Bratt for first lieutenant. The mayor and 
council petitioned Silas Garber, then governor of Ne- 
braska, to send arms, and in due time, 180 rifles 
with ammunition reached the imperiled city. This 
scare, like previous ones passed, but the coum-il 
chamber looked like an arsenal while it lasted and 
when the rifles were returned, a resolution signed by 
the mayor, was sent to the governor, thanking him 
*'for his consideration for the lives and property of 
the citizens of North Platte." 

James Belton served the city faithfully as mayor, 
but at the next election, R. J. Wyman was elected 
with a majority of 263 votes, and Mr. Belton retired, 
generously donating his salary to the city. 

When R. J. Wyman took his seat as mayor, x4pril 
5, 1879, he announced in his inaugural address that 
he was opposed to all forms of vice in the city, and 
as liquor was at the root of most evils, its sale with- 
in the city limits ought to be suppressed. The ma- 
jority of the councilmen agreed with him, and despite 



106 NORTH PLATTE AND 

reasons given by the minority that a crusade of the 
kind would be ineffectual, applications for renewals 
of saloon licenses lay on the table disregarded, and 
it was ''Resolved, that his honor the mayor notify, 
through the city marshal, all persons engaged in 
selling intoxicating liquors, that no licenses to sell 
liquor in North Platte will be granted by the coun- 
cil. '^ 

The foregoing resolution became law May 6, 
1879, and the town Avas declared *'dry" and it may be 
remarked that North Platte was the first (supposed 
to be) "dry" town in the state of Nebraska. 

Law in those days was loosely administered and 
western life too free and easy for saloon keepers to 
be deterred from selling liquor by any such meas- 
ure, and they went right along doing business, with 
the slight difference that beer was called "butter- 
milk" and sold under that name. 

The fact that saloon keepers continued doing 
business being brought to the attention of council the 
marshal was ordered to suppress the sale of liquor, 
and close all houses of prostitution within the city. 
The order of the council and the marshal were alike 
unheeded, and mattet-s went on, the mud in the 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 107 

streets becoming deeper, and pools of stagnant water 
undiminished. 

Although this councirs idea of prohibition was 
somewhat crude, it passed sOme good measures one be- 
ing an ordinance to prohibit shooting within the 
limits of the city, and carrying deadly weapons; al- 
so, making the construction of sidewalks compulsory. 
Such is a glimpse of the doings of the city fathers 
in days gone by, when North Platte was emerging 
from the primitive and becoming a fit claimant for 
a place among the cities of Nebraska. 

Persons of the same creed have a tendency to 
get together and worship in unison. Ten Presby- 
terians combined in 1873, and at a meeting held in 
the Baptist church in June of that year, a church 
w^as organized by the Hev. N. C. Hobinson, superin- 
tendent of missions for southwestern Iowa and Ne- 
braska. The congregation worshipped in the Baptist 
church until the autumn of 1877, and afterwards in 
the court house hall until the summer of 1878 when 
it moved into a small frame church built by the con- 
gregation. This church stood on the west side of 
Dewey street on the site now occupied by the Keith 
theater. In course of time it came to be sandwiched 



108 



NORTH PLATTE AND 



between much higher buildings and looked the most 
unpretentious place of worship in town. The congre- 










gation, however, had high aspirations, and in 1905 
the sanctuary was moved from shade to sunshine and 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 109 

placed on the corner of Fourth and Willow streets, 
and there it remained until the fall of 1909, when 
it was torn down to make room for the finest church 
building in the city. It is in the Gothic style and con- 
structed of pressed brick, and has a belfry and tow- 
er. The property including lots, is presently valued 
at $28,000. 

The interior of this church is spacious and fitted 
with every modern convenience. The windows are of 
brilliant art glass. One portrays Christ in Gethse- 
manie, and another a luminous picture of ''The Cre- 
ation." A melodiously toned organ that cost $2,500 
completes this well arranged place of worship. 

This fine sanctuary was dedicated Sunday, June 
26, 1910. Dr. Thomas B. Greenlee, a former pastor, 
preached the sermon, and following the simple cere- 
mony of dedication Dr. W. H. Kearns offered an im- 
pressive prayer, and at its conclusion, all understood 
that the building was set apart for the service of God. 
The Rev. George Franklin Williams, M. A., is a 
son of the late Rev. George Williams, D. D. He re- 
ceived his education in Bellevue college and Prince- 
ton Theological Seminary, and did post graduate 
work in Princeton University. He was ordained by 



110 NORTH PLATTE AND 

the Presbytery of Omaha, in September, 1899, at Ban- 
croft, and was inducted to the charge, May 1, 1909. 
Mr. Williams is a fluent and attractive speaker, and 
since his settlement, the congregation has increased 
and become prosperous. During the ten years of his 
ministry, all of which has been in Nebraska, he has 
gained a wide acquaintance over the state, and at a 
meeting of the Presbyterian Synod in October, 1910, 
was elected moderator. He is, presently, the most 
popular clergyman in and out of the church the town 
has known. 

Early in 1880, several shacks and a frame build- 
ing on the corner of Front and Dewey streets in 
which P. J. Cohn & Company had a clothing store 
were moved, and on their sites a brick block was 
built. It was much admired at the time, but it was 
only the forerunner of similar buildings. ^'Beache's 
Bank," as it was termed, was in this building, and 
the Star clothing house, conducted by the late H. 
Otten, occupied the corner store room up to May, 
1886, when he vacated the premises in favor of the 
newly organized First National bank which went in- 
to business with a paid up capital of $50,000. The 
upper floor of this building has been transformed sev- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 111 

eral times. At first it figured as the Keith hall and 
was rented for entertainments, but as that did not 
pay, it was divided into rooms designed for offices. 
The land office was located in it, and many lawyers 
procured a precarious livelihood acting for home- 
steaders in contest cases and such like. The North 
Platte Telegraph had its birth in one of the rooms 
in 1881, the redoubtable James McNulty being pro- 
prietor and editor. James sold out, September 1st, 
1883 and left the city, but the paper survives after 
many vicissitudes as a daily and weekly. 

Early in 1882, Charles McDonald erected the fine 
brick building on the west corner of Front and 
Dewey streets and installed therein the McDonald 
State bank, which is the oldest banking house in 
town. It began as the McDonald and Walker bank, 
and was located in a small frame building on Dewey 
street, but in 1878, Mr. McDonald purchased his 
partner's interest in the. business and carried it on 
in his own name. In 1891, he bought the imposing 
building corner at Sixth and Dewey streets, and 
transferred his bank to the corner room, February 
22, 1902, and there the McDonald State Bank pros- 
pers. 



112 NORTH PLATTE AND 

The North Platte National bank occupied the 
premises in which the McDonald State bank is lo- 
cated. The late Dr. A. D. Buckworth, who came 
from Hastings, Nebraska in 1872, to be register of 
the United States land office, was its president, and 
Samuel Goozee the cashier, but in some av9J, its af- 
fairs got tangled up, and after a brief existence, its 
door was closed on December 19, 1894, and its af- 
fairs passed into the hands of a receiver. 

It was in 1882 that the corner stone of the first 
Methodist Episcopal church was laid, but it was not 
until 1883 that the building was completed and dedi- 
cated to the worship of God by Bishop P. Hurst. The 
cost was $3,500. 

This church was organized in February 1877, 
with fifteen members, and as near as can be ascer- 
tained, they were, iMrs. J. H. McConnell, Mrs. 
Charles McDonald, Miss Alice Darly, Miss Alice Tink- 
ham, Mrs. B. L. Robinson, Charles Ormsby, Mrs, Mak- 
inson, Mrs. Morgan Davis, Mrs. Emma Marsh, Mrs. 
George Simpson, Mrs. J. Beattly, Mrs. Charles Hall, 
Mrs. A. B. Hall, Mrs. D. W. Adamson and Mrs. A. M. 
Mason. 

The first meetinjgs for worship were held in the 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 11:] 

court house hall, afterwards in the Unitarian hall, 
then in the Baptist church, and again in the court 
house hall until a church was built. 

The first pastor was the Rev. J. C. Stoughton 
who was appointed in 1877 and removed in 1878.'' He 
was succeeded by the Rev. Edward Thompson who 
was appointed in March, 1878, and removed in Octo- 
ber, 1879. He was followed by the Rev. P. C. John- 
son, October, 1879, and it was during his pastorate 
the first church building was erected. The Rev. John- 
son was removed in October, 1882, and was followed 
by the Rev. Joel A. Smith who remained one year. 
The Rev. W. G. Vessels was appointed in 1888, and 
remained until September, 1886, when the Rev. W. A. 
Amsbury was appointed and removed in 1887, to take 
the district. The Rev. George W. Martin followed 
and was removed in 1888, to give place to the Rev. 
A. J. Clifton who remained until the close of 1890. 
The next pastor Avas the Rev. Erastus Smith who 
served two years. The Rev. W. E. Hardaw^'y was ap- 
pointed in October, 1892, and was removed in Septem- 
ber, 1895. The Rev. C. C. Suavely followed and serv- 
ed the charge until September, 1898, Avlien the Rev. 
C. C. Wilson was appointed. Since the Rev. Wil- 



114 NORTH PLATTE AND 

son's time, C. P. Wimberly, R. Randolph, E. J. Rob- 
inson, J. W. Morris and S. J. Medelin have served. 
The Rev. W. S. Porter succeeded Medelin, and is the 
present incumbent. 

The clergymen whose names are recorded above, 
were well known in North Platte Severfi.l of them 
were eloquent speakers and had the gift of fascina- 
ting an audience, and were influential outside their 
own church circle. 

The Rev. W. S. Porter was inducted to the pas- 
torate on the 11th of October, 1908, and is fully as 
popular as any of his predecessors. He was ushered 
into this world of care in Louise county, Iowa, on 
May 15, 1868. His parents moved to Kansas when he 
was about two years old, and remained until he was 
about seven, when tli^y again moved and located on 
a farm near Monmouth, Illinois, where he attended 
the district school during the months of winter, and 
from spring to fall, worki^d on the farm from early 
to late. His lot was no worse than that of other 
farmer boys, but unlike many, he had a thirst for 
knowledge and self-improvement, and shortly after at- 
taining his majority he took a full course at Helling 
college, Abingdon, Illinois. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 115 

After six years, two in preparation work, and 
four in the College of Liberal Arts, he graduated in 
1895 as valedictorian of his class with the degree A. 
B. In September, 1895, he joined the Central Illinois 
conference of the Methodist Episcopal church and 
served four years at Victoria, Illinois; three years 
at North Henderson, Illinois; two at Burnside, E- 
linois, and two years at LaHarpe, Illinois. In the fall 
of 1906, he transferred from the Central Illinois con- 
ference to the Western Nebraska conference, and was 
stationed at Holbrook, Furnas county, Nebraska, 
where, after serving tw^o years he was transferred 
to North Platte. On December 20, 1894, the Rev. 
Porter was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Childs, 
and their home is now blessed with four children, 
three boys and one girl. 

The first presiding elder of the M. E. church 
was the Rev. T. B. Lemon. Rev. W. A. Amsbury fol- 
lowed him, and he in turn was followed by the Rev. 
James Leonard. Afterwards, R. S. Moore and A. 
Chamberlain were appointed 

Associated with this church is a branch of the 
Epworth League, organized in May, 1889, and also, 
a Ladies' Aid society 



116 



NORTH PLATTE AND 



Many entertain pleasant memories of the old 
^1. E. frame church, the original home of the con- 
gregation, which caught fire from a defective flue 



• ' 




A 




:, Jj!|i> 


fi 


' JUi f la., -^'ff^Wi 


im. 


^^^^K\^£ »> « - ,<-'.%!* ays ^r^'Si^B 


1 H i » 



Methodist Episcopal Church, North Platte. 

while a prayer meeting was in progress, on the eve- 
ning of December 7, 1898. The calamity was deplor- 
ed by the congregation, but with them, to think was 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 117 

the act, and getting together, plans were laid and 
arrangements made to erect a better church building. 
Solicitation for aid to do so met with a hearty re- 
sponse and the result was, that the corner stone of a 
brick edifice was laid by the Rev. C. C. Wilson on 
April 12th, and on July 23, 1899, it was dedicated 
to the service of God by Dr. Lewis Curts. The cost 
of the church when completed was about $8,000. It 
makes an imposing appearance and is a credit to the 
city. 



118 NORTH PLATTE AND 



CHAPTER VII. 

The city in 1884. — J. H. McConnell — Business streets 
and stores. - — Presidential campaign. — Judge 
Church. — Store buildings erected. — Building and 
Loan Association. — City waterworks. — The Luth- 
eran church built. — The Tucker saloon burns. — 
Erection of First National Bank building. — The 
new jail. — Old Settlers' reunion. — Town first 
lighted by electricity. 



In 1884, North Platte was a city of nearly 3,000 in- 
habitants, with well defined streets, and a business 
center containing many stores, law and other offices. 
Some three hundred and fifty men were employed in 
and about the railroad shops, and the pay roll aver- 
aged about $30,500 per month, and sixty per cent of 
the employees owned city property. As liberal buyers 
make successful merchants, business prospered and 
the city continued to grow, prosperity being the re- 
Avard of industry. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 119 

J. H. ]MeConnell was master ineelianiL' in those 
days, and it is noteworthy that he materially aided 
in every movement tending to the advancement of the 
city. He was small of stature, but an expert in me- 
chanics, and was the master mind in many undertak- 
ings ; notably that of the North Platte Irrigation com- 
pany when organized, and the providing of free bath 
rooms and a library of upwards of 1,000 volumes, for 
employees. This library was merged into that of the 
Railroad Young Mens' Christian Association when 
that institution was established in the city in 1890. 

The city was scarcely eighteen years old in '84, 
but to get a comprehensive view of its development, 
it will be well to take a retrospective glance at the 
business streets, sto-:*es and industries, of that day. 

The city could then boast of two banks and two 
newspapers, the Nebraskan and Telegraph. The lead- 
ing grocery stores ware those of Charles McDonald on 
Front street and T. J. Foley corner of 6th and Dewey 
streets. They were well patronized and always 
crowded on pay car nights. Less pretentious gro- 
ceries were kept by A. J. ^Minshall, C. F. Ormsby and 
J. D. Jackson. I. E. VanDoran dealt in mens' furn- 
ishings, newspapers and cigars, and old man Nixon 



120 NORTH PLATTE AND 

in notions and confectionery while J. F. Sclimal- 
zried manufactured cigars and supplied smoking re- 
quisites. Then there was the Warner book store and 
the jewelry stores of P. H. McEvoy and Thoelokie. 

The clothing stores were those of II. Otten, Rob- 
ert Douglas and A. Holzmark; and well stocked 
stores in which hardware, furniture and stoves were 
displayed were kept by James Belton, Thomas Keli- 
her and Conway & "Wiggans The drug stores were 
those of James LeFils, J. Q. Thacker and Dr. F. N. 
Dick, and the popular doctors were F. H. Longley, 
C. M. Duncan and F. N. Dick. There Avere lawyers 
plenty, the best known being William Neville, Alon- 
zo H. Church, E. M. Day, Oliver Shannon, J. W. Bix- 
ler and Hinman & Nesbit, and real estate and insur- 
ance had several representatives. Beside the Railroad 
hotel, there was the Hinman house and several 
boarding houses. Livery stables were conducted by 
Dickinson, Besack and VanDoran; and the black- 
smith shops were those of John Ottersteda, and the 
late much esteemed William J. Patterson who had his 
place of business on West Sixth street, a short dis- 
tance from Dewey. Cash and Iddings, Birge and 
Frees had lumber yards and were kept busy supply- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS V2\ 

ing the wants of a develo])ing district. R. J. Bangs 
wis sheriff, and G. T. Snelling probate judge, but 
quietness and order reigned supreme and their duties 
were light. Twenty-six years have passed since then, 
and with the exception of tobacconist Schmalzried, 
there is not a storekeeper or blacksmith in business 
today that was in business then, and the city has 
grown and been improved to such a degree that it 
would scarcely be recognized by the long absent. 

During the presidential campaign of eighty four 
there was great enthusiasm and excitement in North 
Platte. In the evenings, old fashioned torch light 
processions paraded the streets with Imnners and 
emblems and bands of music. The Republican nom- 
inees were James G. Blaine and John A. Logan 
and those of the Democrats, Grover Cleveland and 
Thomas A. Hendricks. Both parties were energetic, 
and large audiences assembled in Lloyd's opera house 
on successive nights to hear the best speakers of both 
parties eloquently extol their candidates and the 
platforms upon which they hoped to be elected. The 
tariff was the all important subject of discussion, the 
Republicns upholding and the Democrats denouncino 
the measure. John Tracy, a staunch Democrat, as^ 



122 NORTH PLATTE AND 

pired to a seat in the legislature, and to further his 
ambition, was ever ready to say a good word for his 
party and his own candidacy. In an address at a 
crowded meeting almost wholly composed of Demo- 
crats, John scathingly criticised Republican views of 
the tariff, and in a burst of eloquence declared 
that he had been ''robbed, shamefully rob- 
bed" by it. The statement seemed to pass indeed, 
but it did not, for Judge Church was taking notes; 
and the next night when Republicans were out in 
force and the opera house packed to suffocation, he 
spoke eloquently, and reviewing statements of Demo- 
cratic speakers at their meeting the previous night, 
said: ''Right here, John Tracy declared that he had 
been robbed, shamefully robbed by the tariff, but 
mark you, what did John Tracy do? Why, he sent 
to the old country for his brother Bob to come ov- 
er and be robbed too. That's what John Tracy done.'' 
The laughter and applause following this sally shook 
the building. 

Judge Church was one of several talented men 
that figured in the public life of North Platte in 
eighty-four. He was a ready and often eloquent 
speaker, and popular as lawyer and politician, and 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 123 

when death claimed him, it was universally regretted. 
In 1885, B. I. Hinman erected a two-story brick busi- 
ness building on Dewey street, and in 1886 some 
frame buildings at the southeast corner of Sixth and 
Dewey streets were removed, and on the sites a brick 
block was erected in which are fine well stocked 
stores. ''Jim" LeFils' drug store on the corner was 
long a favorite rendezvous of railroad men, and 
there, quick runs we^e run over again and railroad 
gossip dispensed. Alexander Streitz succeeded Le- 
Fils in the business and cai-ried it on with success 
until failing health compelled him to retire. That 
same year, J. K. Ottenstein erected a substantial 
store, and in doing so, displaced some ancient wooden 
structures that disfigured Dewey street. 

Important local events of 1887 were the forma- 
tion of a Mutual Building and Loan Association and 
the erection of a waterworks plant by the North 
Platte Waterworks Company. 

The Mutual Building and Loan Association has 
been an active agency for making North Platte a city 
of homes. It grew steadily from the first, and homes 
have been built and purchased by its assistance that 
never could have been obtained otherwise by people 



124 



NORTH PLATTE AND 



of limited means, and the waterworks has proved a 
blessing- to the community by bringing an abundance 
of pure water to the door of every householder and 
making it possible to have trees, shrubs, floAvers and 
blue grass lawns about residences. In those days of 
hand pumps and windmills there w^as difficulty in 




Plant of City Waterworks. 



maintaining vegetation about a home owing to the 
dryness of the climate, therefore, residence lots gen- 
erally had a brown, burned-out appearance. 

It was in the fall of 1880 that citizens of the 
Lutheran faith met and affiliated, but it was not un- 
til May, 1881 that the first Lutheran church of 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 125 

North Platte was organized by the Kev. J. F. Kiihl- 
man with twenty charter members. 

Different pastors and missionaries served the 
congregation until June, 1884, when the Board of 
Home Missions appointed the Rev. Charles Ander- 
son of Roekford, Illinois, who remained about a year. 
The Rev. Adam Stump, of York, Pennsylvania, took 
charge of the work Deccmiber 1, 1885, and remained 
until September, 1890. During the Rev. Stump's pas- 
torate, the present church, which was the first church 
in town built of brick, was erected at a cost of $8,000 
This substantial building was dedicated to the service 
of God December 2, 1889. The Rev. Stump's pastor- 
ate was very successful, the membership increasing to 
ninety-two. 

After the Rev. Stump came the Rev. J. F. Kuhl- 
man who served the congregation as ''supply" for a 
time, but was afterwards appointed the regular pastor. 
Rev. Kuhlman resigned. May 21, 1893. During his pas- 
torate the congregaiioln received no aid from the 
Home Mission Board, 

The Rev. David J. Foulk became pastor January 1 
1894. During his pastorate, the indebtedness of the 
church was cancelled, a bell for the tower purchased, 



126 NORTH PLATTE AND 

and needed repairs made. Rev. Foulk was pastor 
for over five years, and was succeeded by the Rev. Is 
0. Wolfe, who served the congregation for over two 
years, but resigned when called to another field. 

The Rev. John Seibert was the next pastor, and 
took up the work November 1, 1900, and after an em- 
inently successful pastorate of nearly nine years, re- 
signed to become missionary of the Synod of Northern 
Illinois. In 1901 the parsonage was enlarged and 
beautified, and in the year following, the church was 
renovated by being painted, papered and carpeted. 
Electric lights were also installed and the Altar and 
Chancel improved. 

The new parsonage was built in 1907, the old par- 
sonage being removed to its present location on Syca- 
more street. 

The Rev. Seibert did more for the temporal and 
spiritual welfare of the congregation than any pre- 
vious pastor. He infused new life in the church and 
gave it a standing in the community ; and when he left 
the members were thoroughly organized and united 
on a distinctively Lutheran basis, irrespective of na- 
tionality. 

The Rev. C. B. Harman began where the Rev. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 127 

Mr. Seibert left off, and is concluding a year of suc- 
cessful church work, having gained the esteem and 
co-operation of his people. He began his labors as pas- 
tor near the place of his birth and scenes wherein he 
spent his early life, and has served as pastor of church- 
es in Pennsylvania and Illinois. He received his col- 
lege and seminary training at Selin's Grove, Pennsyl- 
vania, graduating from the college in 1897 with the de- 
gree of B. A., and from the seminary in 1900, with the 
degree of B. D., having taken the full collegiate and 
logical course. 

The property of the Nortli Platte first Lutheran 
church, notwithstanding its humble beginning, is val- 
ued at $13,000 and the baptized membership numbers 
370, with a large number of adherents. 

In 1889 there vv-as a den called "the Tucker sa- 
loon" on the northeast corner of Sixth and Dewey 
streets. It was a celebrated place of its kind in ear- 
ly days and a favorite resort of cowboys, gamblers 
and thirsty citizens. It had a sinister reputation, and 
no one was particularly grieved when, on a bitter 
cold night in November of that year the place 
caught fire, and it and some low roofed buildings 
close to it were consumed. It was a big fire, and 



128 NOliTH PLATTE AND 

the first to which the newly organized fire brigade 
had been called, but despite their efforts, there was 
nothing left but a heap of smouldering, blackened 
ruins. In the burned off space the directors of the 
First National Bank saw a desirable site for a bank 
building, and at once interviewed the owner, the 
late John Neary, who accepted terms offered as they 
were favorable alike to himself and them, and the 
erection of the fine building in which the banking 
business of the First National is now conducted was 
at once begun, and completed in January, 1890. The 
original quarters of this bank was on tlie corner of 
Front and Dewey streets. 

Prisons are necessary in all civilized commun- 
ities, and will be, so long as avarice and evil passions 
rage. The old log jail was never a safe or suitable 
place in wliicli to confine law breakers. North Platte 
having ceased to be a frontier town, a jail that was 
sanitary, secure and commodious was requisite. This 
was long under consideration, but it was not until 
1889 that bonds were voted, and it was near the close 
of 1890 when the modern two-storied brick jail on 
Locust street was erected. There is nothing remark- 
able about the institution, and so far, no very des- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 129 

perate or notorious criminals have been confined in 
it, and escapes have been few. The several sheriffs 
who have had charge of it were men of decisive char- 
acter who delighted in discharging the duties of the 
office. 

Residents of North Platte in early days were 
more than neighbors, they were friends, and it is no 
wonder that a feeling akin to clannishness bound 
them together when the town became populous. We 
have evidence of this, for on the 6th of March, 1890 
they met with their families and friends to recall 
events and incidents that occurred in days when the 
city (such as it was) was on the frontier of civiliza- 
tion. W. F. Cody acted as toastmaster, and the meet- 
ing was put in his charge. W. H. McDonald, the 
first white child born in Lincoln county, was the 
guest of honor. There was among those present, W. 
H. Hinman and B. I. Hinman and many other old set- 
tlers who helped to lay the foundation of our city. 
M. C. Keith, George Vroman, Robert E. Peale and 
Superintendent W. L Park responded to toasts. The 
meeting was highly uccessful, and ended by W. F. 
Cody inviting all old settlers to a banquet at Scout's 
Rest Ranch. 



130 NORTH PLATTE AND 

In 1892 an Electric Light company was organized 
most of the shareholders being residents of North 
Platte. The plant was built north of the railroad 
yards, poles erected and wires strung, and when in 
operation, many visited and viewed the generator 
with wonder. All admitted the superiority of the 
new light, but the change from coal oil to electricity 
was not appreciated to the extent expected, as only 
a limited number of business places and a few homes 
had it introduced. Electric lighting at the time was 
new and not well understood, and when lights went 
out — and they had a habit of doing so frequently — 
people would strike matches and attempt to light 
them as they would a lamp, but failing, ignorance be- 
gat prejudice, and many holding that the old sys- 
tem of lighting was more reliable and cheaper, re- 
turned to its use. This resulted in the expenses of 
the company exceeding the income, and after a 
valiant struggle, it went out of business in 1895, hav- 
ing sunk some $15,000. The plant lay for several 
years in a ruinous condition, but the power house 
was ultimately moved to the fair grounds, and there 
it stands a memento of a well intentioned endeavor 
to light North Platte by electricity. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 131 

The failure of the Electric Light Company did 
not disturb business in the city; things went on as 
^^s^al — the industrious prospering and the city ex- 
panding. 



132 NORTH PLATTE AND 



CHAPTER Vin. 

The city fire of '93. — Progress of the flames. — Inci- 
dents. — Dr. Dick dies. — Telephone system intro- 
duced. — The Spanish war. — Our local volunteers. 
- — Off they go to meet the foe. — Scene at the de- 
pot. — Dewey's victory. — Volunteers return dis- 
appointed. — Methodist church burns. — M. C. 
Keith dies. — The story of his life. — City schools; 
teachers and pupils. 



On the morning of April 7, 1893, a vast prairie 
fire, rushed by a fierce wind and entending from riv- 
er to river was seen approaching the city from the 
west. Locomotive whistles shrieked an alarm and the 
fire bell rang to Avarn the citizens of coming danger. 
The fire brigade turned out, and people ran west- 
ward to fight fire and help to save property. Peo- 
ple whose homes were in the path of the fast ap- 
proaching wall of fl mes made hurried preparations to 
save property, and a few were more or less success- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 133 

ful. Charles Wyman by strenuous exertion succeed- 
ed in saving his dwelling house and barn, but pens, 
fences and hay burned. Wash Hinman, considering 
his home doomed, had much of his household goods 
conveyed to some ploughed ground. Despite the pre- 
caution, fire reached them, and they and all he pos- 
sessed was consumed. The Freeman family had bare- 
ly time to escape from their blazing home and lost 
everything. The McDonald ranch and everything 
combustable about it was consumed. Between this 
ranch and the western outskirts oi the city was a 
space burned over by a previous fire which was con- 
sidered sufficient to stay the progress of the flames. 
It would have been under favorable circumstances, 
but the fierce wind sent burning embers flying, and 
wafted the fire around it. Despite the almost super- 
human efforts of citizens, fire got among the houses 
with astonishing rapidity and in brief space many 
were in flames; and blazing shingles wafted by the 
wind spread fire in very direction. Women and chil- 
dren fled in terror, while men scorched by heat, and 
well nigh blinded by smoke did what they could to 
save life and property. 

People whose homes were in the path of the 



134 NORTH PLATTE AND 

fire, and no great distance from it, loaded their 
household goods on wagons in an endeavor to reach 
a place of safety but blazing shingles, in some in- 
stances fell among the goods and they burned so 
rapidly that there was scarcely time to unhitch the 
horses. Many people expecting their houses to burn, 
conveyed furniture nd needful articles to supposed 
places of safety, but there were instances where the 
fire became freakish and instead of burning the 
house consumed the articles removed. 

Numerous buggies and wagons were kept busy 
conveying women and children to the round house and 
places of safety, and the city being considered doom- 
ed, a train was held to help convey people out of 
town. 

Towards evening, the fire, much subdued, reach- 
ed Locust street, having been checked near the Id- 
dings property, and dividing, burned fiercely north 
and south of town, sweeping the Miller and Peniston 
additions, at the time sparsely built up, and eastward 
to the river, consuming barns, sheds, fences and side- 
walks, yea, everything in its course. The bottling 
works were wiped out, and the creamery, in which 
some $8,000 had been invested was a total loss. Some 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 135 

thirty-five houses were burned to the ground. Sev- 
eral people were rendered homeless and many lost 
all the}^ possessed. 

Strange acts are sometimes performed by individ- 
uals when crazed by excitement. One man is said to 
have heroically dragged his cook stove out of the 
kitchen into the yard, and returning, he gathered up 
the breakfast dishes and threw them out the window. 
Another, in a frantic endeavor to save his house witli 
water from a half inch hose gave up in despair, and 
falling upon his knees, prayed fervently that his 
property would be spared as it was all he had. The 
fire was getting hoM, and the house was in a fair 
way of being burned down when the practical 
Joseph Weeks of the fire brigade happened along, 
and taking in the situation, yelled, ''Get up, confound 
you, and take a hose." He did, and his home was 
saved. 

Ninety-four and ninety -five passed without any 
very important local event occurring, but on Decem- 
ber 29, 1896, the community was startled hy the an- 
nouncement that death had claimed Dr. F N. Dick, 
a pioneer citizen and one of the early resident physi- 
cians. He was popular in his profession, in social 



136 NOKTH PLATTE AND 

and Masonic circles, and his familiar personality and 
pleasant manner are doubtless remembered by many. 
He was a native of North Carolina, and a graduate 
of the University of Virginia, and Washington col- 
lege of Baltimore, Md., and came to North Platte 
in 1868. His drug store was at the corner of Sixth 
and Locust streets and served as office and dispens- 
ary, and in it he practiced medicine and ministered 
to the afflicted until death laid its icy hand upon 
him. 

In 1867, the North Platte Telephone company was 
started by G. T. Field and 0. W. Sizemore, and a 
franchise was granted them by the city council to run 
lines in the streets and alleys. 

The first exchange was located in the rear of 
Sizemore ^s barber shop, and was started with some 
thirty-three subscribers. 

As the business grew, these quarters proved too 
small, and in 1900 the exchange was moved to the 
present location in the McDonald block on Dewey 
street. 

In 1903, Mr. Field bought out Mr. Sizemore 's 
interest, and the same year incorporated the North 
Platte Telephone company; and on June 1, 1907, sold 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 137 

out to the present company, who have made the 
service highly efficent, and communication can be 
had with places near and far. 

When President McKinley called for 200,000 vol- 
unteers to help settle our little difficulty with Spain. 
April 21, 1898, the boys of North Platte w^ere eager 
to enlist, and many joined Company E, second regi- 
ment, Nebraska Volunteer Infantry, organized in 
the city, November 21. 1893. Like Job's war horse. 
Company E sniffed t^e battle afar, and being 
anxious to go to the front, assembled at the Union 
Pacific depot on the morning of May 9th to go to 
Lincoln to be mustered into the United States serv- 
ice. A big crowd was there to see *'the boys" off. 
Flags fluttered in the morning breeze on many build- 
ings, a band played, and cheers rent the air, but a 
sad feature of the scene was the tearful faces of 
wives and sweethearts of volunteers who had come 
to say good-by to loved ones, not knowing but the 
parting might be forever. 

When the train pulled out, bells rang, locomotive 
whistles shrieked and cheer after cheer woke the 
the echoes, and a then popular Episcopal minister in 
exhileration threw his hat in the air, so joyous wa.<i 



138 NORTH PLATTE AND 

he that North Platte would be represented at the 
front. From Lincoln, Company E went to Chicka- 
mauga, and shortly thereafter were joined by some 
twenty recruits, enlisted at North Platte. 

Much to its disappointmen, Company E never got 
to the front, for Spain, finding resistance useless, 
made overtures for peace, and on August 12, 1898, 
a protocol was signed by representatives of both na- 
tions providing for cessation of hostilities, and on 
October 24, Company E was mustered out, and the 
boys returned to their homes and occupations, not 
altogether without causalities, for John Krajicek, a 
private, died in the hospital. Harry Brown returned 
sick, and shortly tltlereafter died, and is buried in 
our cemetery. William U. Adamson came back on 
crutches being seriously wounded. It seems he was 
taking his blouse off a peg in a tent when a revol- 
ver dropped from a pocket of a comrade's garment, 
and exploding sent a bullet through the calf of his 
leg. 

Company E was wholly made up of men be- 
longing to North Platte or its immediate vicinity, 
and if it did not find reputation at the cannon's 
mouth, and return covered with gore .and glory, it 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 139 

displayed a patriotic spirit, and a willingness to 
maintain the dignity of the United States. 

On May 2, 1898, Admiral Dewey's victory in the 
bay of Manila caused great rejoicing in North Platte. 
Flags fluttered from house tops, and the Union Pa- 
cific company's offices, workshops and hotel display- 
ed Old Glory. Everybody wore a smile of satisfac- 
tion and wished in some way to honor the hero of 
the most brilliant navel battle in the world's his- 
tory. The city council in a burst of patriotism, de- 
vised a cheap and efficient plan to do so, and an- 
nounced that the principal street in town should no 
longer be called Spruce street, but henceforth and 
forever Dewey street, and so it came to pass; and 
Spruce street is known as Dewey street until this 
day. 

A noteworthy local event of 1899 was the death 
of M. C. Keith, an early pioneer resident, and the 
most financially successful man in the district. No 
figure was more familiar than his as he rode in his 
buggy through the city streets behind a team of 
spirited horses. Of a retiring disposition, he took no 
part in local affairs, yet, with keen business instinct 
he saw the future of North Platte and invested large- 



140 NORTH PLATTE AND 

ly in real estate and erected buildings in the city 
at a time when there was little encouragement to 
do so. 

Morell Case Kejth was born at Silver Creek, 
New York, November 21, 1824. In early manhood he 
married Susan C. Smith of Smith's Mills, New York, 
and shortly thereafter moved to Topeka, Kansas, 
where he conducted a hotel. From there he moved to 
Applegrove, Iowa, and engaged in the same business, 
but having an opportunity to try his fortune in an- 
other line, he went to St. Joseph, Missouri, and se- 
cured freight contracts from the government, and 
for a number of years freighted between St. Joseph 
and Leavenworth, and also between Leavenworth and 
Denver when the route was infested by Indians, and 
beset with many danger. It is not exactly known 
when Mr. Keith relinquished freighting and came to 
Lincoln county, but it must have been about the time 
the scream of the locomotive whistle first broke the 
stillness of the prairie. It is known with certainty, 
however, that he early associated himself in the cat- 
tle business with Guy C. Barton, and that the firm 
of Keith and Barton had a statewide reputation. 
When civilization moved westward, homesteaders 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 141 

gradually encroached upon the vast cattle ranges and 
several who had invested in cattle retired; Keith and 
Barton being among the number. Afterwards, Mr. 
Keith did considerable contract grading on the 
Union Pacific railroad and associated with Mr. Bar- 
ton, conducted the Union Pacific hotel for some time, 
being succeeded by David Cash. His ranch at Paw- 
nee Springs east of town greatly interested him, and 
he derived much pleasure attending to it up to near 
the time of his death. 

Mr. Keith's wife died September 23, 1877, leav- 
ing a daughter named Mollie, a much esteemed 
young lady. Mr. Keith afterwards married Cassie 
Casey, a popular teacher in the city schools, who, af- 
ter a brief married life, died February 3, 1884. Mol- 
lie Keith married the Hon. William Neville, and after 
a short yet happy married life, died March 1, 1884, 
leaving a baby boy who was named Morell Keith 
Neville who grew to manhood and inherited the 
Keith estate. The Hon. William Neville died April 
5, 1909, and is buried in the Keitb burying place in 
North Platte cemetery. M. C. Keith and his first 
and second wife lie side by side, and Mollie Keith 
and her husband repose at their feet. 



142 NORTH PLATTE AND 

In 1899, serious rents appeared in the walls of the 
Jiigh school building that called for immediate atten- 
tion, and the Board of Education requested an archi- 
tect to make an examination and report. The re- 
sult was, the building was pronounced unsafe, and, 
after due consideration, the board decided to have 
it replaced hy a modern .-uitl more commodious struc- 
ture, and that while the work of destruction and con- 
struction was going- on, schools would be conducted 
in the court house and Unitarian halls. As already 
stated, the brick, or high school succeeded the log 
school house, and being comparatively new, its col- 
lapse could not be well accounted for. 

The at one time, much admired high school was 
speedily torn down, and before the year 1900 closed, 
it had become a memory; and on its site stood a 
school building worthy of the city, and equal to any 
in the state of Nebraska. It contains an auditorium, 
seven school rooms, five recitation rooms, offices for 
secretary and superintendent, toilet rooms, shower 
bath and athletic dressing rooms. 

Besides this well appointed school building, there 
are schools in the First, Second and Third wards. 
That in the First is a substantial four-room frame 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 143 

building. The Washington school in the Second 
ward, and the Lincoln school in the Third ward (both 
built in 1909) are spacious two-storied buildings 
constructed of diamond brick and of the same arch- 
itectural design. Each contains an auditorium, six 
school rooms, principal's office, library, toilet rooms, 
manual training and domestic science rooms. 

A board of six members have general oversight 




First Brick High School Building. 



and control of school affairs, and annually ekn-t a 
city superintendent who is under their jurisdiction, 
and has immediate control of the system. Each scliool 
has a principal appointed by the board who is re- 
sponsible to the superintendent foi the regulation 
and government of the school under her charge. 

The district maintains eight grades, and it tak('< 



144 NORTH PLATTE AND 

nine years to complete them. Pupils starting at five 
years of age may graduate at eighteen by taking a 
grade each year. The graded schools teach all of the 
common branches and music. 

The high school is accredited to the State Uni- 
versity, the State Normal schools, and the North 
Central association of Colleges and Universities. 
Graduates may enter the Freshman class of the State 
University without examination, and it is recognized 
by the State Department of Education as a normal 
training school, and receives a grant of $350 a year. 
A music supervisor gives instruction from the first 
grades to the twelfth. 

Including teachers, supervisors and administra- 
tors, there are thirty-one men and women connected 
with the schools who teach all or part of their time. 

The total enrollment numbers 1055 scholars, but 
this is under the average. It is trratifying that edu- 
tion has kept pace with the growth of the city, and 
that from a beginning of a one room school, one 
teacher and eight scholars, such educational facil- 
ities have developed. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 145 



CHAPTER IX. 

School records. — Teachers and their salaries. — New 
school building. — A school squabble. — The school 
bell.' — First north side school. — Schools for First 
and Second wards. — W. J. Patterson. — Light- 
ing the city by electricity. — U. P. strike. — Strike 
breakers shipped in. — Boisterous strikers. — Mili- 
tary aid asked for.— Unexpected settlement of 
the strike. 



It is a pleasant task to turn over the leaves of 
the school records and trace the progress of educa- 
tion at North Platte. Of course, the volumes are of 
no great antiquity, as citizens who resided here when 
school district No. 1 began to be, are still with us : 
notably, Charles McDonald, wdio has the honor of 
having been the first superintendent of schools, al- 
though the fact is not mentioned in the records re- 
ferred to. The first entry is prefaced by the state- 



146 NORTH PLATTE AND 

ment that ''after diligent search, no record of edu- 
cation can be found;" and is dated Stepember 1, 
1869, and refers to a contract between the school 
board and Maggie T. G. Eberhart of Omaha to teach 
school for three months at $75 per month, commenc- 
ing December 8, 1869, to March 8, 1870. At the time, 
Andrew Struthers was moderator; R. J. Wyman, di- 
rector and W. J. Patterson, treasurer; all good men 
and true, but alas, they long since ceased from 
troubling, and are laid away in our cemetery with 
other pioneers. 

That the school board was perplexed by lack of 
funds and fell in arrears with teachers' salaries is 
painfully evident throughout the records. On April 
4, 1870, Miss Mary Hubbard is paid $530; Miss Mag- 
gie T. G. Eberhart $450 and F. Fulton Gant $225 for 
teaching. At that time there were eight-eight chil- 
dren between the ages of five and twentj^-one years 
in the district. 

It appears that Miss Mary Hubbard taught three 
months at $100 per month, and received $300 on 
September 7, 1870; and that Miss Eberhart taught 
six months at $75 per month and gets $450 on same 
date; and that the school board owned "One build- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 147 

ing- of logs, A^alued at $275." 

About this time the long- unsolved problem of 
school accommodation loomed up, and the school 
board, with a depleted treasury was in a quandry. 
The log school house, even with an additional room 
recently added to it was altogether too small to ac- 
commodate the ever increasing numbei' of children 
and something had to be done. 

The citizens seem to have taken the matter up, 
for an entry in the records states that the school 
board is authorized to borrow a sum of money not to 
exceed three thousand dollars at twelve per cent, 
for the purpose of erecting and furnishing a school 
house, on condition that the Union Pacfic Railroad 
company donate a block in the town of North Platte 
for school purposes. 

Although badly handicapped, the board seems 
to have struggled valiantly along, hiring teachers 
when necessary ; one by the name of F, M. Beehe 
and another named D. B. McQuarrie being engaged 
at $75 a month each. 

The board seems to have procured the three 
thousand dollars, for further on they are authorized 
to borrow two thousand more for the proposed school 



148 NORTH PLATTE AND 

building, and on April 11, 1873 it is "Resolved that 
the school board -be instructed to build a school* 
house by the first of December, 1873, to cost not less 
than ten, and not more than fifteen thousand dollars, 
and if they cannot procure good merchantable brick 
or stone in a reasoua^ble time, that they build of 
wood. ' ' 

On January 3, 1874, B. 1. Hinman moves "that 
the old log school house be sold at public sale, May 
1st, 1874 ; and on January 7th, same date, the board 
ordered that notice of sale be inserted in the North 
Platte "Enterprise," to be published four weeks, 
that the log building now occupied as a district 
school house will be sold at public auction on the 
9th day of February, between the hours of two and 
three o'clock, p. m; terms of sale, cash. Possession 
to be given when the new school building is ready 
for occupation." 

On February 9th, 1874, "The school board met 
in accordance with the foregoing resolution. As al- 
ready stated the old school house was sold to Joseph 
McConnell for six hundred and eleven dollars; the 
money paid to the treasurer, and a full claim deed 
given, signed by G. C. Barton, moderator, and Joseph 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 149 

Mackle, director. Possession of the old school house 
to be given to the purchaser, not later than May 1st, 
1874. 

On April 6, 1874, the director reports that he 
had taken a careful census and found in school dis- 
trict No. 1, 270 children between the ages of five and 
twenty-one. 

''April 6, 1874: On motion it was ordered that 
the board be authorized to borrow the amount of 
money necessary to complete and pay for the school 
building now being erected in the district." 

April 25, 1874: Committee had borrowed $850 
of J. R. Ottenstein and ''Gave note of district, signed 
by moderator and director, and C. H. Street, treasur- 
er had paid amount to them and indorsed their 
warrant and took receipt." 

In the many efforts to raise money to complete 
the school building the board permitted the teachers' 
salaries to fall sadly in arrears, and even Mrs. Steb- 
bins, the janitor, who received $15 a month for her 
services, had not been paid a cent for four months; 
but the financial horizon began to brighten, and on 
June 27, 1874, a committee of three is appointed to 
examine the school house when finished, and settle 



150 NORTH PLATTE AND 

with Gillett and Thompsoii. Three teachers are al- 
so employed for the ensuing year, and Mr. Church is 
appointed to offer W T. Stockdale $1,000 dollars 
for his services as principal for the next school 
term. 

On August 27, 1874, the committee report that 
''the new brick school house is completed in a good 
and workmanlike manner as contemplated by con- 
tract;" and as ''all's well that ends well," everybody 
was jubilant. 

At this stage, a difference of opinion regarding 
school matters arose which resulted in the formation 
of a school district which the organizers called "No. 
5". The seceders opened a school in the Unitarian 
hall and the squabble became so virulent that it 
got into court and was tried before the chief justice 
of the state, the Hon. George B. Lake, who decided 
against insurgent "district No. 5" making it plain 
that it had no jurisdiction. A leader of the insur- 
gent band, however, although defeated, argued still, 
and at his suggestion, the school in the Unitarian hall 
continued, seemingly to the annoyance of the mem- 
bers of the school board, for they order that their 
attorneys be instructed to draw up a basis of settle- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 151 

iiient ''to settle the difficulties existing between 
school district No. 1, and so called district No. 5." 
Like other local squabbles, this one is forgotten, 
and most of the citizens who took part in it have 
shared a like fate. 

For some reason, teachers were frequently chang- 
ed, their deportment after school hours being watch- 
ed and criticised. One young lady who was consid- 




The Present High School Building. 



ered an expert teacher, incurred the displeasure of 
the board and the parents of several of her pupils, 
by attending an occasional dancing party. Her dis- 
missal being demanded, it depended upon a vote 
whether or not her services would be retained. The 
broad-minded John Bratt, who was on the school 
board at the time, happened to be on a ranch some 



152 NORTH PLATTE AND 

twenty miles north of the city when he learned from 
a party from town that the young lady's fate would 
be decided by a close vote in the evening. She had 
his sympathy, and he determined to aid her to re- 
tain the situation. Selecting the best horse he had, 
and although it was late in the afternoon, he rode 
with all haste towards the city. All went well iintil 
he came to the river, which happened to be in flood. 
The hour of meetingwas near; but unfortunately, a 
boat used by ranch people to cross the stream, was 
on the other side. Determined to reach the city, like 
a chivalrous knight, he rode his horse into the surg- 
ing river and swam it across, and got to the school 
house, wet as he was, in time to cast his vote. It 
gave the young lady a majority, and she retained the 
position. 

In July, 1875, the board orders that teachers be 
advertised for ''to teach school at North Platte;" 
and also, that the windows of the school house be 
boarded up and the premises properly secured dur- 
ing vacation. Seemingly, window panes were shin- 
ing marks to naughty boys of that period, same as 
they are to some juveniles of this. 

From among several applicants. Miss Daly, Miss 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 153 ' 

Laura Michall and Miss Annie Ferguson were elect- 
ed to teach; the first at $70, and the others at $G0 
per month. 

A school census taken in April, 1877, shows that 
120 boys, and 135 girls attended school. 

In September 1877; M. M. Babbitt was hired as 
principal at $100 per month, and Miss Honn as first 
teacher at $60, the condition being, that ''they are 
to be dismissed if not qualified." Miss Nellie 
Graves and Miss IM. E. Kelleher were engaged at the 
same time as assistant teachers, at $60 a month each. 
"On same conditions as the foregoing." 

The principal, first teacher and her assistants 
are called before tbe board and told that if their 
services proved acceptable, they could teach for ten- 
months, but if not, they would be dismissed at the 
end of the first month. 

The citizens seem to have been well pleased witli 
the new school building, for on September 15, 1877, 
$51.50 was raised by voluntary subscription to pur- 
chase a bell for it. When the bell arrived, the mem- 
bers of the school board and a crowd of citizens as- 
sembled to see it put in place in the tower, and when 
all w^as completed and approved, a vote of thanks 



154 NORTH PLATTE AND 

was tendered George B. Nettelton for doing the work. 

A census taken in April, 1878, showed that 212 
boys, and 225 girls of school age were in the district, 
making, it is stated, an increase of sixty-one. 

A petition for a school on the north side, which 
the board had under consideration, was urged by a 
second, signed by forty -three residents; and the late 
Anthony Eeise moved that a building large enough 
to accommodate seventy-five children be built, as he 
considered that a building of that size would meet 
the requirements of the north side for many years. 
Seemingly, Mr. Reise and his colleagues had no con- 
ception of the district's future, for a motion was 
adopted that a school house of the size should be 
built and four lots purchased without delay. Pat 
Walsh, a popular builder at the time, was given the 
contract, and on November 4, 1878, pronounced the 
building finished. Miss E Cassie Casey was chos- 
en by the board, and it was ordered "that she be en- 
gaged to teach in the school house of the Third 
ward at $60 a month for one year.' ' 

In April, 1880, the school board had in their em- 
ploy one principal and five assistants. This staff, 
however, was inadequate, for there were 364 children 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 355 

attending school in .the city at the time ; and the 
school rooms were taxed beyond their capacity. The 
board was in a quandary, for funds were limited, 
and the result of an increasing population was more 
children. Another room was urgently needed, and 
the basement of the brick school was converted into 
a school room and another teacher employed, but 
this did not lessen the troubles of the school board, 
for an addition to the north side school was called 
for, coupled with a request for two more teachers, 
and a suggestion that there should be a primary 
school in the First ward near the Catholic church, 
and one in the Second ward near the barracks. 

At a meeting of the school board, April 4, 1881, 
it was stated that there was 756 children of school 
age in the district, being fifty-five more than the 
previous year. At the same meeting, the problem of 
school accommodation was again discussed, and all 
agreed that the room in the basement of the ^rick 
school occupied as a primary department was too 
small, having a very low ceiling and no ventilation, 
and that, although there was seating capacity for 
sixty children, eighty-five were crowded into it. To 
mend matters, B. I. Hinman made a motion that a 



156 NORTH PLATTE AND 

site be procured and a school house erected in the 
Second ward west of the old barracks. After discus- 
sion, it was agreed that bonds be issued for $3,000 
to make it possible to purchase sites and build a 
school in the First and Second wards. These bonds 
were voted. May 11, 1881. 

On June 1, same year, it was resolved that the 
board employ M. S. Honn, Jennie L. Dillon, M. E. 
Keliher, Nora 'Conner, Cassie Casey and Etta Steb- 
bins to teach in school district No. 1. 

On September 7, 1881, an addition to the Third 
ward school was completed and approved by the 
board, and Cassie Casey appointed to teach in the 
new room as well as the old with an increase of sal- 
ary of $10. 

In 1884, schools were erected in the First and Sec- 
ond Avards which met requirements for a time, but 
they in turn became crowded, hence the spacious 
school buildings of the present day. 

Now that the progress of education in the city 
has been traced from the time the voice of the first 
school teacher in Lincoln county was heard in the 
old log school house, it will be well to revert to lo- 
cal occurrences. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 157 

It was on November 80, 1900, William J. Patter- 
son, one of North Platte's pioneer citizens passed to 
everlasting rest at the age of seventy-six, and they 
who knew him best, regretted it most, for he was 
straightforward, candid and upright. 

He came to the town in the fall of 1867 and went 
to work in the Union Pacific shops as a blacksmith. 
The house he occupied so many years, was either the 
third or fourth frame building built in town then, 
for, as already pointed out, dwellings prior to 1868, 
were constructed of sod or logs. However, the march 
of improvement has swept away the Patterson home, 
and the Goozee block on East Sixth street occupies 
the site of it and its once much admired garden. 

Mr. Patterson did not live wholly for himself, but 
for others, and took an interest in whatever tended 
to improve social conditions. He helped to organize 
th(- first school in town and was its treasurer, taking 
care of its scant funds. He was also a justice of the 
peace, and as fines went to support the school, he 
imposed and collected from all culprits brought be- 
fore him. He w^as one of the founders of the Episco- 
pal church, an earnest worker for its promotion, and 
a liberal contributor to its funds, as the records testi- 



158 NORTH PLATTE AND 

fy. He was a member of the school board and its 
treasurer, and represented the First ward in 1875 
and 1876, when Anthony Hies was mayor. 

After working in the shops for eight years he 
drifted into a blacksmith business of his own and 
employed several men. His shop was on West Sixth 
street, a short distance from the McDonald bank, but 
a brick building occupies the site, and every trace of 
it is effaced. He was of a happy disposition, and an 
excellent conversationalist, and scattered sunshine 
wherever he went. 

The Electric Light Company erected an electric 
light plant north of the railroad yard and established 
the North Platte Electric Light and Power Company. 

The original capacity of the plant was 1.200 lights 
but in 1904 this capacity was doubled, and in De- 
cember, 1908, new generators were installed, giving 
a capacity of 5,000 lights. With electric lighting bet- 
ter understood than it was when the former plant 
was operated, and lights made reliable, the efforts 
of this company are appreciated, and the streets, 
stores and dwellings are lighted by its agency. 

1902 is memorable as the year in which the ma- 
chinists and boilermakers in the employ of the Union 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 159 

Pacific Railroad Company struck against a threat- 
ened introduction of piece work, a system of labor for- 
bidden by the rules of the machinists' union and ob- 
jected to by the men. It was considered that this 
strike would not last many days, but it proved to be 
the worst and most prolonged labor trouble in which 
workmen in the shops at North Platte were ever in- 
volved. 

As prearranged, fifty-two machinists, and some 
forty helpers laid down their tools at 10 o'clock on 
the morning of the last day of June, and joined the 
boilermakers, who quit work the previous week. The 
striking machinists made the hall in the First Na- 
tional bank building their headquarters for a time, 
and met there to discuss the situation and arrange 
for a campaign by appointing pickets to watch all 
trains, and patrol the approaches to the shops and 
round house so that men going there in quest of 
employment might have the situation explained to 
them. 

Things remained passive for several days, no 
truce or concession being asked for, when, to the 
surprise of all concerned, Messrs. Barnum and Bax- 
ter, Union Pacific railroad officials, requested an in- 



160 NORTH PLATTE AND 

terview with all striking machinists and boilermakers. 
This was at once granted 'and they were invited to 
visit the strikers' headquarters. Both gentlemen 
were popular and received an enthusiastic reception 
and spoke at some length, and did all they could to 
persuade the men to accept the situation and return 
to work. Mr. Barnuni spoke kindly, but seeing his 
words did not impress his hearers, he warmed up, and 
in conclusion said: "Do not think that we are going 
to keep these shops standing idle ; depend upon it, 
that if you do not return to work they will be filled 
with men." 

Little attention was paid to this prediction, but 
in a few days it was fulfilled to the letter. A de- 
putation from the Commercial club of North Platte 
next interviewed the strikers and endeavored to 
pour oil on troubled waters and avert a continuence 
of the strike, but their effort failed and the deadlock 
remained. 

Among the striking machinists were several tran- 
sient workmen who had no interest whatever in the 
city or intention of remaining. Such had industrous- 
ly talked strike, but when trouble came, they lit out 
and left men who owned their homes or had their 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 161 

all at stake, to work out their own salvation. 

Time, tide and passenger trains wait on no man, 
and as nothing short of an earthquake could stop 
traffic on the Union Pacific railroad, the company 
shipped in men to replace those who had gone on 
strike, not only at Omaha, Grand Island, Cheyenne 
and other places disorganized by the w^^lkout of skill- 
ed workmen. 

At North Platte, elaborate arrangements were 
made for the reception of the new men, or ''strike- 
breakers" as they were termed. The boiler shop 
and numerous box cars were fitted up with bunks, 
and cooks and waiters hired to minister to their 
wants, and at night the yards w^ere illuminated with 
electric lights, and deputy police and armed guards 
patrolled them to preserve the peace and prevent in- 
terference with the new arrivals. 

Three car loads of these breakers under a strong 
guard arrived at the shops one morning, and large or- 
derly crowds on the depot and Front street watched 
them leave the cars and file to the office for enroll- 
ment. 

Strikebreakers in closed cars well guarde<l, ar- 
rived at and passed through North Platte daily, and 



162 NORTH PLATTE AND 

although strikers in plenty were on the depot, they 
found no opportunity to interview the incomers, and 
all that they or their sympathisers could do was to 
hoot and yell "Scab" and this demonstrative clam- 
or at times was so great that townspeople thought 
that a riot was in progress. 

At night the scene was novel and picturesque up- 
on the Union Pacific Company's premises, the whole 
being lit up by a blaze of electric light and guarded 
by an army of armed watchmen and deputy police 
who scrutinized and questioned persons who attempt- 
ed to cross the track or approach the shops or round 
house. 

The railroad officials soon found it difficult to 
retain the services of strikebreakers, manj^ of them 
being birds of passage and of low moral character, 
and others had conscientious scruples about what 
working men call ''scabbing" and made their stay 
short. This made it necessary to ship in more strike- 
breakers to fill vacancies in all shops on the system, 
and car loads of them arrived at, and passed through 
North Platte almost every day. 

The strikers got to know in some way when trains 
bearing strikebreakers were due, and they and their 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 163 

sympathisers were generally at the depot in force 
to give them an ovation and voice their disapproval 
of men accepting employment under prevailing con- 
ditions. These tumults often had the semblance of 
a riot and alarmed timid people so much that his hon 
or, the mayor of North Platte, was prevailed upon 
to request the governor of the state to send troops 
to maintain order, as the strikers carried sticks and 
and had hung a Union Pacific railway official in ef- 
figy, a circumstance of which every citizen was 
aware. The governor, however, acted with delibera- 
tion and personally investigated the situation, and 
after interviewing the strikers and local authorities, 
concluded that troops were unnecessary, and that the 
sheriff and his deputies were sufficient to maintain 
law and order. 

The governor's decision, however, did not satis- 
fy certain parties, and the mayor was prevailed upon 
to issue a proclamation prohibiting strikers from car- 
rying sticks and frequenting the railroad depot. Such 
precaution proved whoHy unnecessary, for as weeks 
passed without sign of settlement, enthusiasm cool- 
ed, and strikers became orderly and attended strict- 
ly to their own business. 



164 NORTH PLATTE AND 

The strikebreakers were as closely guarded as 
convicts in a penitentiary, eating and sleeping on the 
company's premises, and Avhen a thirst induced any 
of them to A^enture over town and visit saloons, they 
were frequently subjected to rough treatment by 
loungers who hang about such places. They were a 
promiscuous crew made up of foreigners, few Amer- 
icans being among them, and the few that were, dis- 
liking restriction and the class they were compelled 
to associate with, generally left when sufficient 
money was earned to enable them to get away. 

Strikers were successful in persuading many to 
leave the company's service, and as competent me- 
chanics could hardly be retained, locomotives got out 
of repair, and boilers leaked so badly that engines fre- 
ciuently ''died" on the road. Trains were late, and 
although the officials had much to contend with, sur- 
render or compromise was never mooted, and months 
of suspense passed; the strikers drawing in weekly 
stipend from their unions and doing ''picket duty" 
with an air of indifference. "Hope deferred maketh 
the heart sick," and several hoping against hope for 
a settlement of the strike, procured situations else- 
where, and the ranks of the strikers gradually became 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 165 

so depleted that there was barely sufficient men left 
to "hold the fort" and vigilance relaxed to such a 
degree that strikebreakers walked the streets without 
feai of molestation. 

Strange as it may appear, the sympathy of the 
people, the merchants and the local press was with 
the strikers from the first. Merchants would not sell 
anything to strikebreakers, and barbers would not 
shave them, and when some brought their families, 
landlords refused to rent them places to live in, but 
as the prospect of the strike being settled weaned, re- 
striction relaxed, and landlords, merchants and others 
gradually favored them, and in this way they gained 
what seemed a permanent settlement, and it was 
conceded that the strike was as good as lost. 

To the surprise of all, the result was otherwise, 
for the officers of the machinists' union had been in 
communication with the directors of the Union Pa- 
cific railway, and at a conference it was arranged 
that all men who had been engaged in the strike be 
restored to their former positions without prejudice, 
and that machinists receive one and a half cents an 
hour advance in wages and resume work June 8, 1903 
Thfc question of piecework was nullified, but the re- 



166 NORTH PLATTE AND 

quest that all strikebreakers be discharged was de- 
nied. 

^ The strikers returned to work jubilant, and the 
strikebreakers gradually faded away, and in less 
than three months all were gone. And thus ended the 
worst labor trouble that ever occurred on the Union 
Pacific railroad. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 167 



CHAPTER X. 

Death of Warren Lloyd.— Sketch of W. S. Peniston's 
life.—Wave of city prosperity.— Masonic Temple 
built. — Dedication and banquet. — The old Mason- 
ic hall and it associations.— Origin of Platte Val- 
ley lodge. — Additions to city.— North Platte 's pos- 
sible future. ' 



After the settlement of the strike, business on 
the Union Pacific railroad and in the shops regained 
wonted activity, and peace and good will reigned su- 
preme, and 1903 glided away without any notable 
local event. 

On April 13, 1904, Warren Lloyd, a pioneer citi- 
zen and old time locomotive engineer, died after a 
brief illness at the age of seventy-four. He witness- 
ed the city 's phenomenal growth and interested him- 
self in its advancement. He built the Lloyd opera 
house, a popular place of amusement in its day, and 



168 NORTH PLATTE AND 

conducted it up to the time of his death. He was a 
model citizen, and served as councilman for the First 
ward for a considerable time, and even although he 
had theological opinions more radical that popular, 
he was universally esteemed. 

He came to Grand Island when that city con- 
sisted of less than a dozen houses, and entered the em- 
ploy of the Union Pacific Railroad Company as engi- 
neer. At the time, vast herds of buffaloes roamed 
the plains, and hostile Indians made railroading peril- 
ous. Mr. Lloyd never had any serious Indian adven- 
tures, but on one occasion escaped death by missing 
a trip on account of sickness, for the engineer and 
crew that took his train out were murdered at Plum 
Creek, the train being ditched by Indians. 

Mr. Lloyd ran a passenger engine up to about 
1890 when he was retired on account of old age and 
defective eyesight, and given charge of the station- 
ary engine at the shops, and afterwards was made 
yard policeman, which position he held until he re- 
signed so he could give more attention to his opera 
house. 

Mr. Lloyd at the time of his death was in fair- 
ly comfortable circumstances, but all lie had so indiis- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 169 

triously accumulated went to distant relatives, and 
he now rests beside his wife in the North Platte ceme- 
tery. A tasteful memorial stone marks the spot. 

Depression of trade throughout the country dur- 
ing the year 1905 did not perceptably change the rou- 
tine of business and everyday life in North Platte 
and that year also slipped away without anything 
important occurring. 1906 was also uneventful, but 
towards its close (October 14) W. S. Peniston, who 
had had wide experience of frontier life, and whose 
name is associated with early days in North Platte, 
laid down the burden of life and entered the silent 
halls of death. 

William Star Peniston was born at Kingston. 
Jamaica in 1834, and relatives of his still reside 
there. He was of good lineage; Lord Peniston of 
England being his uncle, therefore by right of birth, 
he belonged to the nobility of that country. His fa- 
ther at one time was the largest shipowner in North 
America, and resided in Quebec, Canada. Mr. Penis- 
ton was educated in this city and resided there until 
early manhood, when, being of a restless disposition, 
he drifted to Minnesota and joined a surveying par- 
ty, which occupation he continued until the spring of 



170 NORTH PLATTE AND 

1858. He afterwards passed down the Missouri riv- 
er to St. Joe, Mo. In that year, the contract to car- 
ry the first weekly mail from St. Joe, Mo., to Salt 
Lake City was let toHockaday, Burr & Company, and 
Mr. Peniston being engaged, drove the first stage with 
the mail from there to Salt Lake, he driving a four 
mule team, while a whipper up, riding alongside kept 
it going with a blacksnake whip. Mr. Peniston and 
his outfit camped out, for at that time there were 
hardly any stations, yet it was so arranged that at 
certain places a change of mules could be made. 
When Ash Hollow was reached, another man took the 
stage, and went on with the mail, and by such relays 
Salt Lake City was reached. 

In 1859 Mr. Peniston drove a trip or two from 
Ash Hollow to O'Fallons Bluffs and at that place 
made the acquaintance of A. J. Miller. Mr. Peniston 
and a friend named Dan Smith, having a business 
project in view, spoke to Mr. Miller about the ad- 
visability of starting a trading post. He gave the idea 
favorable consideration and suggested that a good 
place for one would be about twenty-five miles west 
of Plum Creek. Mr. Miller was called away, and 
during his absence, Peniston and Smith built at the 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 171 

place mentioned and called it Cold /Water. The busi- 
ness promised well, and Mr. Peniston, having recog- 
nized Miller's business ability, informed him that he 
and Smith would be pleased to take him into partner- 
ship. Mr. Miller threw in his lot with them, and in 
the fall of 1860 they built another trading post ten 
miles west of the original and named it Spring Villa. 
Peniston and Smith conducted it and Mr. Miller look- 
ed after the business at Cold Water. In the spring of 
1861 this partnership was dissolved. Mr, Peniston 
and Mr. Miller retained the Cold Water post and ac- 
cepted sufficient cattle, horses and money to make 
good their share of the estate. 

In January, 1865, Mr. Peniston and his partner 
went from Nebraskc^ City to Auburn, New York, 
and on March 15, both were married; Mr. Peniston 
marrying Miss Annie M. Webb, of that city. By way 
of a wedding tour, they started west, and after a long 
weary journey landed at Nebraska City and put up 
at the home of their friend, J. Sterling Morton. Af- 
ter a stay of three months, Mr. Miller struck across 
the plains with the intention of fixing up the Cold 
Water trading post so that their young wives could 
have a tolerably decent place to come to. To his as- 



172 NORTH PLATTE AND 

tonishment it was' wrecked and badly burned. The 
Indians had been there, and Peniston and Miller lost 
more than any traders from St. Joe, Missouri, to 
California ever lost by Indians. On August 12, 1864, 
M. C. Keith, W. A. Paxton, Guy C Barton and oth- 
ers, estimated the loss at $200,000. The firm never 
obtained compensation. Disheartened, but not dis- 
couraged, Mr. Miller fixed the place up, and Mr. 
Peniston, accompanied by his wife and Mrs. Miller, 
came by stage in the latter part of July, and life on 
the plains was entered upon. 

In the summer of 1866 the Union Pacific railroad 
was built past the Peniston and Miller trading post. 
Learning that the terminus would be at North Platte 
for some time, the partners concluded to move their 
stock and buildings there. The cedar log store build- 
ing was taken apart and conveyed to North Platte 
and set up on what is now the corner of Front and 
Locust streets. It weathered the storms of winter 
and the suuLLine of summer for many years, and was 
long looked upon as a relic of early days. 

Peniston and Miller built cosy homes on the cor- 
ners of Sixth and Locust streets which still stand, 
and carried on a successful general store business up 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 173 

to 1870, when they dissolved partnership, Mr. Penis- 
ton retiring. 

Mr. Peniston was police judge for several years, 
and county judge for some time. He also served in 
the land office, and filled other positions in the city. 

No one knew Mr. Peniston better than A. J. Mil- 
ler and he states that he was "highly educated and 
a polished gentleman." 

North Platte awoke fronj its lethargy in 1907 and 
was greeted by a wave of prosperity and building ac- 
tivity. In that year seventy residences were built and 
seven miles of cement sidewalks laid, and the Bur7 
lington Railroad Company surveyed for a roadbed 
through the south part of town and purchased $200,- 
000 worth of property. The Odd Fellows also re- 
constructed and enlarged their lodge building at a 
cost of $20,000 and the Free Ma?ons erected a tem- 
ple creditable alike to Masonry and the city at a cost 
of $30,000. 

The Masonic Temple was built towards the close 
of 1907, and dedicated February 22, 1908. The 
ground floor is occupied by spacious stores, and the 
second by a banquet hall, reading and lodge rooms, 



174 



NORTH PLATTE AND 

nd contains all modern 



cloak rooms and kitchen, 
improvements. 

The dedication was quite an event in North 
Platte, occurring as it did on Washington's* birth- 
day when most people had leisure. It was not whol- 
ly local, however, for delegates came from Masonic 




The New Masonic Temple. 



lodges located at Sidney, Chappell, Ogalalla, Gothen- 
burg, Cozad, Lexington, Gandy Elm Creek, Kearney, 
Gibbon, Shelton, Wood River and Grand Island, to 
the number of between thirty and sixty from each 
lodge. At 2 o'clock nearly two hundred Masons 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 175 

formed in line on Dewey street, near the Temple, and 
proceeded to the Pacific hotel to meet members of 
the grand lodge and escort them to take part in the 
dedicatory exercises. 

When the assembly had gathered in the lodge 
room, the proceedings were conducted in due and 
ancient form by Grand Master Oman J. King, as- 
sisted by officers and members of the grand lodge, 
and in conclusion, Henry W. Wilson delivered an ora- 
tion ,the subject of which was "Washington and 
Masonry." 

In the evening the proceedings were concluded 
by a banquet served in the dining hall of the temple, 
at which over two hundred and thirty Masons partici- 
pated. All spent an impressive, never-to-be-forgotten 
evening of social joy, and the day will ever be a red 
letter one for Masonry in the annals of North Platte. 

When the temple was dedicated, Platte Valle'j^ 
Lodge No. 32, had one hundred and seventy members 
in good standing, and at the time, John G. Mcllvane 
was master ; Frank L. Mooney, senior warden ; John 
F. Seibert, junior warden; Frank E. BuUard, secre- 
tary^; Samuel Goozee, treasurer; Robert Armstrong, 



176 NORTH PLATTE AND 

senior deacon; Dr. 0. H. Cressler, junior deacon, 
and Platte J. Gilman, tyler. 

Besides what is designated the Blue Lodge, there 
was at the time Euphrates, chapter 15, A. A. M., or- 
ganized in 1876, with a following of seventy mem- 
bers; and the Palestine Commandry, No. 13; Knight 
Templars, organized in '83 with a membership of six- 
ty-eight. There is also the order of the Eastern Star. 
to which none but Mason's wives, daughters and sis- 
ters are admitted. The membership of this order is 
one hundred and fifty. 

The modest two story frame building, long known 
as the Masonic hall, that occupied the site of the 
temple was erected in 1872 at a cost of $2,600. The 
amount was raised b|y the sale of shares at $50 each 
to local Masons. The site narrowly escaped being 
that of a church building. It seems that while the 
Episcopalians were considering purchasing it, Major 
William Woodhurst, at the time an enthusiastic Ma- 
son, made a trip to Omaha and secured it for ''the 
craft." 

The old building was in a sense historical, for be- 
fore the erection of the court house, the ground floor 
was leased to Lincoln county and used as a court 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 



177 



room and office for the transaction of county busi- 
ness. The old lodge room too had its associations, 
and will not be readily forgotten by Masons who first 
saw the light within it. It will also be memorable to 




Second Masonic Building. 



many as the scene of social events at which pleasant 
hours were spent and friendships formed which time 
cannot efface. 

Platte Valley Lodge No. 32, ancient, free and ac- 
cepted Masons, had its birth at Cottonwood Springs, 



178 



NORTH PLATTE AND 



November 15, 1869 in a room 24x24 feet in size, in 
the second story of the Charles McDonald store build- 
ing, a rough frontier structure more useful than ele- 
gant. $60 was spent on furniture for this modest 
lodge room, and at the first meeting five Masons 
were present, and as their names have been pre- 
served, it is a pleasure co give them : Rev. A. A. 
Reese, army chaplain and first master of the lodge; 




Birth Place of Platte Valley Lodge. 

Captains A. B. Taylor and W. II. Brown; Edward A. 
Lieb and Lieutenant Charles B. Brady. 

Shortly afterward, Charles McDonald, Dr. F. 
N. Dick and Eugene A. Carr were admitted, and at 
the first meeting after letters of dispensation had 
been granted by the grand lodge of Nebraska, eight 
petitions for membership were presented, and follow- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 179 

ing the first install t^tion of officers was a modest 
banquet at which the military band furnished music. 

The first emergency meeting was called January 
18, 1870, to attend the funeral of Richard Ormsby. 

When Masonary began to assert itself at Cot- 
tonwood Springs, Fort McPherson was garrisoned by 
a contingent of the Fifth United States Cavalry un- 
der the command of Col. W. H. Emery, who was bit- 
terly opposed to Masonry in general, and the local 
lodge in particular, and did all he could to crush it 
by persecuting officers and men who attended its 
meetings. As there was no abatement to his hostil- 
ity, the brethren concluded to remove the lodge to 
North Platte, and the erection of the frame build- 
ing which gave place to the more enduring edifice, 
was the result. 

The Odd Fellows' hall, or rather the home of 
Walla Walla lodge No. 56, I 0. 6. F., was dedicated 
January 14, 1908, and is a credit to the city and 
that fraternal order. 

Adjacent to the Odd Fellows' hall is the Keith 
theatre, a well arranged place of amusement with 
capacity to seat 650 persons. It was erected in 1908 
at a cost of $40,000. 



180 NORTH PLATTE AND 

The erection of fifty residences and the laying 
down of some four miles of permanent sidewalks 
made the above year a prosperous' one for North 
Platte. 

In August, 1909, bonds for $100,000 were voted 
for the erection of a waterworks plant to be owned 
and operated by the city, but the Waterworks Compa- 
ny filed an injunction to prevent the sale of the 
bonds, claiming that the city agreed to purchase 
their property at an appraised valuation of $85,000. 
At this writing, the matter is still in court. 

By the close of 1909, North Platte had secured 
fifteen miles of cement sidewalks, and the streets 
had been wonderfully improved by grading, and with 
an elaborate sewer system, the city is sanitary and 
healthful. 

In the spring of 1909 the city purchased four 
blocks of the Riverdale nddition for a public park 
and set out 2r^0 trees ' 

Beside the Peniston and Miller additions to the 
city, and they are extensively built on, there are 
the Hinman addition, included by the city, April 4. 
1887; the Trustees addition, laid out May 5, 1908; 
and the Riverdale addition, twelve blocks, laid out 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 181 

in the spring of 1910; then the Selby and South 
Park which vrere laid out about the same time. 

Just now the citizens have in anticipation the 
erection of a public library for which Mr. Andrew 
Carnegie has generously offered to give $12,000, on 
condition that the city furnish a site and provide a 
fund for its maintenance. 

That the government will erect a federal build- 
ing in the near future is assured. Building goes on, 
and the town keeps expanding. Among the substan- 
tial buildings erected, may be mentioned the Timmer- 
man Hotel, the Elk block, and Goozee building on 
Sixth street. 

North Platte is classed as a city of the first class, 
and the largest in Western Nebraska with a popula- 
tion of nearly 5,500. Although a railroad town, it is 
much more important than such towns usually are; 
for it is a distributing point, and enjoys all the agri- 
cultural trade of the Platte Valley, and when the 
North River branch of the Union Pacific railway, and 
the branch line of the B. & M. railroad are in opera- 
tion, who can predict its possible future? 



182 NORTH PLATTE AND 



CHAPTER XI. 

COTTONWOOD SPRINGS AND 
FORT McPHERSON 



Cottonwood Springs — First buildings. — Dick Darling 
— The rush to California. — Travel along the 
Platte Valley. — Trains of freight wagons. — First 
marriages in Lincoln County. — Indians come to 
trade. — Indian hostilities. — Fort McPherson built 
and garrisoned. — Soldiers killed in Cottonwood 
canyon.— Other atrocities. — Indians wreck freight 
train — Dutch Frank. — John Burke. — Buffalo Bill 
and his Pawnee scouts. — Pawnee soldiers on pa- 
rade. 



As Cottonwood Springs and Fort McPherson 
were intimately associated with North Platte in the 
early part of the city's history, it will be well to peer 
into what is fast becoming the misty past, and rescue 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 183 

from oblivion the little regarding them that lingers 
in the memory of people still living. 

The at one time scattered village of Cotton- 
wood Springs was a place of considerable importance 
up to the cessation of Indian hostilities and the 
abandonment of Fort McPherson. In its palmy days 
it was the county seat, had attained a population of 
nearly four hundred,, and had a postoffice, but af- 
ter the l^nion Pacific railroad reached North Platte 
and the fort was demolished, it dwindled into insigni- 
ficance, and houses were sold, torn down, or moved 
away until nothing was left to indicate that a vil- 
lage had been there. 

The name the village bore is that of the pre- 
cinct of today, and is derived from some springs that 
were in a slough east of the site of the fort, but the 
slough and springs have long since dried up, and the 
Cottonwood trees by them have disappeared. 

In 1858, the first permanent settlemeni in what 
is now Lincoln county was made at Cottonwood 
Springs in the fall of that year bv Boyer, Boyer ^': 
Robideau. They erected a log building for a trading 
post, and traded with the Indians, but in the fall of 
1859 a typical plainsman named Dick Darling came 



184 NORTH PLATTE AND 

along and began the erection of another building, 
which was the second. Few equaled Dick at horse- 
manship, and it was during the Morman war, while 
employed by the government as dispatch carrier 
that he made his famous ride from Fort Bridge to 
Fort Leavenworth in four days, during w^hich he nev- 
er slept, but ate his food as he best could while rid- 
ing at full speed, and only stopped long enough to 
change horses at relay stations. 

Dick sold out to Charles McDonald, who com- 
pleted the building, and put in a stock of supplies 
for freighters and emigrants. At the time a great 
rush of emigrants and goldseekers to the Rocky 
mountains and California was on, and the south side 
of the Platte river valley w^as lined with long trains 
of emigrant and freight wagons heading for the land 
of promise and hope. Ranches were soon established 
along the route by parties who kept supplies for the 
pilgrims. These ranches were a long distance apart 
at first, but increased in number until they came to 
he from ten to twelve miles distant from each other. 
Mail and stage lines were also established along the 
route, and until the completion of the Union Pacific 
railway^ a constant stream of travel poured along the 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 185 

valley, and it was a novel sight to see those trains 
moving across the prairie, some going east and oth- 
ers west as the case might be, and occasionally the 
scene would be varied by a picturesque band of Mor- 
mons on the march, some with mule and ox teams, 
and others with their worldly possessions loaded on 
hand carts often hauled by women, while men walk- 
ed leisurely alongside. During the summer months, 
it was nothing unusual for from 700 to 1,000 w^agons 
to pass through Cottonwood Springs in one day. This 
seems incredible, but when it is taken into considera- 
tion that the Russell, Majors & Waddell Company 
were transporting millions of pounds of freight for 
the government at the time, and it was but one of 
several companies engaged in the freight business, 
and that they employed 2,000 men, operated 6,250 
wagons with a team force of 75,000 oxen, and had 
$2,000,000 invested, t will be convincing. 

A freight train in those days was composed of 
twenty-five large sized wagons made to haul 6,000 
pounds or more each, and each wagon was drawn by 
six yoke of large oxen. The crew consisted of a 
wagon master, who acted as captain, then the assist- 
ant wagon master, the extra hands, the night herder 



186 NORTH PLATTE AND 

and the cavall, whose duty was to attend to the ex- 
tra cattle. Beside these, was a driver for each team, 
making a complete force of thirty-one men for a train. 
The wagon master was called the "bull wagon boss," 
the teamsters or wagon drivers, "bull whackers," 
and a train a "bull outfit." Every man Avas ex- 
pected to be thoroughlj^ armed, and know where to 
"fall in" when an attack was made by hostile bands 
of Indians. Such attacks frequently occurred, and 
many a bullwhacker poured out his life blood on the 
prairie, and died, "unwept, unhonored and unsung." 

As stated, Charles McDonald opened an over- 
land general store at Cottonwood Springs, which in 
time became an important depot for supplies for emi- 
grants and a place of shelter. Despite business inter- 
ests, Mr. McDonald found time to look after the wel- 
fare of the settlement, and aid in the organization 
of Lincoln county, which at first was called Shorter 
county. He was the first county official, being elect- 
ed judge for the county, immediately after its organ- 
ization and in his time, he held the office of county 
clerk, and county commissioner, and was the first 
county superintendent of schools. 

The first marriage that took place in what is now 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 



187 



Lincoln county, occurred on June 10, 1861, at Cot- 
touAvood Springs, which was the county seat in those 
days. Charles McDonald being probate judge, issu- 
ed the license and performed the ceremony, the con- 




Charles McDonald. 



tracting parties being Camille Pettier and Malinda 
Hall. The second marriage did not occur until May 
21, 1863, and the third couple married were Robert 
Rowland, and Dolly Grooms. Shortly after this wed- 



188 NORTH PLATTE AND 

ding, the marriage of Washington Hinman and Vir- 
ginia Hall occurred, Mr. McDonald tying the nuptial 
knot. 

Mrs. Charles McDonald joined her husband 
shortly after his settlement at Cottonwood Springs, 
and was the first white woman to permanently lo- 
cate in Lincoln county and probably on that account 
she was considered the best looking lady in the dis- 
trict. She was called Milla Huska by the Indians, 
which interpreted, means white squaw. In a sense, 
she came from the haunts of civilization to those of 
savagery, for Cottonwood Springs was infested by 
Indians more or less hostile, but she was a woman of 
strong personality and not easily intimidated and 
adapted herself to circumsatnces. Her son, W. H. 
McDonald, is said to have been the first white child 
born in Lincoln county. Mrs. McDonald died at 
North Platte, December 28, 1898, and rests in the 
family lot in the city cemetery. 

It could always be told by the howling of the 
wolves when Indians were coming to Cottonwood 
Springs, and they frequently came by the hundred, 
braves and squaws to trade, and indulge in a feast 
of bread and coffee, and the merchant who feasted 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 189 

them most was generally awarded their trade. Buf- 
falo, beaver and other furs were exchanged for orna- 
ments and merchandise, and as the ordinary price of 
a buffalo robe was about one dollar, traders made im- 
mense profits. Fire-arms and ammunition were al- 
ways in demand, and Indians would pay an enormous 
price in furs and ponies to procure them. 

Indians were always hungry, and occasionally, 
forward and menacing, and would come about houses 
and peer through the windows, and by times, seek to 
pry a sash open with a tomahawk, and even squaws 
would make themselves objectionable by covering 
panes with their faces to an extent to exclude the 
light. 

In 1862, the settlement was disturbed by rumors 
that the Indians were on the war path, and watch 
was kept day and night to guard against surprise. 
Hostilities between Sioux and Cheyennes were in 
progress at the time, and many depredations were 
committed. A number of white people were killed 
and scalped, and as life and property had been inse- 
cure for a lengthened period, the government con- 
cluded to restrain the Indians by military super- 
vision. For this purpose, Fort McPherson was built 



190 NORTH PLATTE AND 

at the mouth of Cottonwood eanyofi in 1863. The 
buildings were constructed of logs procured by cut- 
ting down trees in the canyon and neighborhood. 

The fort was first occupied by Captain Hammer, 
Company G, Seventh Iowa Cavalry, and a detach- 
ment of troops ; but Captain Bedford arrived from 
Brownville the same year with one company of 
soldiers. At that time, or shortly after, an Indian 
was killed by a sqaad of soldiers from Fort Kear- 
ney, and in imitation of the manner in which the 
Sioux Indians disposed of their dead, the body was 
placed on a framework of poles. This incident great- 
ly offended the InrliiEs, and increased their hatred 
of the white. 

Fort McPherson was ])uilt none to soon, for In- 
dian atrocities in its vicinity became alarmingly nu- 
merous and frequent. 

On August 8, 1864, the Cheyenne Indians killed 
eleven men ai d two women near Plum Creek (now 
Lexington) and "On the 9th," says the Oiimha Ne- 
braskan of August 17, 1864, "a hundred Indians at- 
tacked a wagon train, killing, sacking and burning 
with characteristic savagery." 

Col. Summers of the Iowa Cavalry, found that be- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 191 

sides thirteen men killed, there were five men, three 
women, and several children missing. ''At Plum 
Creek," says a man giving- evidence, ''I saw the 
bodies of eleven other men whom the Indians had mur- 
dered, and I helped to bury them. I also saw frag- 
ments of wagons still burning, and the dead body of 
a man who was killed by the Indians at Smith's 
ranch, and the ruins of the ranch which had been 
burned." 

Lieutenant George P. Bellen stated that the 
men killed at Plum Creek were first wounded and 
kept lying on the ground while the savages had a 
war dance around them. They were finally tortured 
to death and scalped, and two women were taken 
into captivity. 

This massacre was the most atrocious of all In- 
dian raids in Nebraska, but it did not suffice, for 
on the following day, they killed two men three miles 
east of Oilman's ranch, and shot Bob Carson as he 
was mowing east of Cottonwood Springs. 

On September 16, 1864, General Robert B. 
Mitchel and several soldiers, while gathering plums 
in Cottonw^ood canyon were surprised by a band of 
hostile Indians who attacked them without warning. 



192 NORTH PLATTE AND 

The general miraculously escaped by dashing into the 
thicket, and creeping unperceived to a safe distance, 
reached the fort by a circuitous route, but when he 
returned with aid, it was found that every man had 
been murdered, scalped and mutilated. 

That same day four stage drivers going west were 
killed by Indians on the road between Kearney and 
Cottonwood Springs. 

Troops at the fort were kept busy endeavoring 
to control the Indians, bat despite their vigilance, 
stock was run off and depredations committed, and 
so matters went on. 

In the spring of 1867, the popular Major Frank 
North then stationed at Fort McPherson, was com- 
manded to enlist four companies of Pawnee Indians 
to serve as guards for the construction gangs of the 
Union Pacific railway. The experiment proved sat- 
isfactory, but they were discharged in the winter of 
1868, and other two companies enilsted, of which 
more hereafter. 

In the fall of the lattei year, a freight train 
was wrecked and plundered by Indians west of Plum 
Creek. It seems they demolished a culvert, and af- 
ter tearing up the rails, watched a train approach, 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 193 

and waited results. The train was ditched, and some 
of the crew killed by the Indians, among them was 
the engineer who, when dying, called to the fireman 
to tell the superintendent to look after his wife and 
children. The Indians were too busy plundering the 
train to pursue the very few who saved themselves 
by flight. Everything was taken from the cars the 
red men cared for, and many ornamented themselves 
with things found, while others unrolled bolts of 
calico, and securing the ends to their ponies, rode 
about at breakneck speed and high glee with the 
cloth fluttering behind in the wind. After enjoying 
themselves, they fired the train and danced round 
while it burned. 

Along in 1868, some ten companies of cavalry 
and infantry were garrisoned at Fort ^IcPherson and 
kept busy guarding emigrants, settlers, stage coaches 
and construction gangs of the Union Pacific railway 
from Indian attacks. 

Despite military vigilance, white people at times 
were murdered and depredations committed ; the 
men working on the Hinman farm in the vicinity of 
Cottonwood Springs being attacked and five killed. 

About this time a popular engineer called 



194 NORTH PLATTE AND 

''Dutch Frank" had a startling adventure when 
coming from Grand Island to North Platte with his 
train. Upon rounding a curve a few miles east of 
the Platte river, he observed an unusually large 
band of Indians crowded on the track to all appear- 
ance intent on mischief. There was no time to re- 
verse the train, and to stop, meant certain death, 
so, pulling the throttle wide open, he went plowing 
through them, kilHng some and maiming others. The 
train received a volley of bullets from the rifles of 
the Indians, but escaped injury, and when it reached 
the depot, the front of the engine was found to be 
bespattered with blood, and the wonder was that it 
escaped being ditched. 

Among seveial who lost heavily by Indian raids 
was John Burke of blessed memory. On his way to 
Pikes Peak, he reached Cottonwood Springs early 
in 1864, but owing to serious Indian troubles along 
the route, concluded to abandon the trip and locate. 
He built a road ranch on the California trail some 
seven miles west of Fort McPherson, and did some 
farming by irrigation, bringing water by ditch from 
the Platte river which flowed about a miles north of 
his place. He was energetic, and secured mail con- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 195 

tracts, and contracts with the Union Pacific railroad 
to supply ties and telegraph poles, and also with Fort 
McPherson for hay and wood. He prospered, but one 
day in the fall of 1868, the Indians swooped down 
on him, burned his ranch, drove off his stock, and 
appropriated whatever they fancied, and he and his 
family, after nanowly escaping death, reached Fort 
McPherson in an exhausted condition. 

Mr. Burke afterwards purchased the old Ben 
Hclladay stage station, located about two miles west 
of the fort, and to facilitate the fulfillment of his con- 
tracts, he built a wagon bridge across the Platte 
river, some mile and a half west of the fort. In June, 
1872, high water took out several spans of this bridge, 
and as he had a eon.' ignment of government freight to 
deliver at the fort, he constructed a boat and loaded 
it, intending to cross the open channels and gain 
the opposite bank. All seemed favorable, but 
through some unaccountable accident, the boat sank, 
and Mr. Burke went down with it. His body was re- 
covered, and interred in the family plot on the old 
homestead, and his decendants are esteemed citizens 
of North Platte. 

Mr. Burke was a man of determination, and 



196 NORTH PLATTE AND 

neither obstacles nor danger detered him from carry- 
ing out his plans, and it was not easy to turn him 
aside from a purpose. On one occasion, a small band 
of Indians drove off some of his stock, and so de- 
termined was he to recover the animals, that he fol- 
lowed the trail alone for nearly two hundred miles, 
but did not succeed, and returned weary and disap- 
pointed. 

On another occasion he was more fortunate. It 
was on the morning cf January 7, 1870, while a small 
herd of cattle belonging to him were grazing near 
Fort McPherson, that a band of roving Indians 
rounded it up, and hurriedly drove it off. An alarm 
was given, and Lieutenant Thomas with a portion of 
Company I, of the Fifth United States Cavalry start- 
ed in pursuit of the red skins without breakfast or 
rations. After a hard chase of about sixty miles 
across a rough country, they, on the morning of the 
8th, succeeded in surprising the Indian camp and re- 
capturing all the stolen stock and about thirty head 
of Indian ponies. Three Indians were killed and 
quite a number wounded. The entire camp was cap- 
tured, including blankets, buffalo robes, saddles, and 
'^ther artcles and whaat could not be brought away 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 197 

was burned. The famous Buffalo Bill accompanied 
the party and did valuable service. 

During 1868, the enmity of the Indians towards 
the whites seemed more virulent, and it was wholly 
owing to the presence of military at Fort McPher- 
son and North Platte, they were kept in anything 
like subjection. The garrison of the fort had been 
increased, and General Carr put in command, and be- 
sides the regular soldiers was a band of some three 
hundred Pawnee Indians under command of the pop- 
ular Major Frank North, and a band of scouts under 
command of Buffalo Bill, who was chief, and noted 
for his persistency in following a trail until the quar- 
ry was run to earth. At the time, the Sioux Indians 
were somewhat on the warpath, and revelling in un- 
restricted freedom, were committing depredations in 
the Republican Valley, and when opportunity af- 
forded, were not slow to do likewise in Lincoln 
county. As the Pawnees and Sioux were inveterate 
enemies, the Pawnees rejoiced at having an opportun- 
ity to square matters with their ancestral foes, and 
fought with such zeal, that their services were in- 
valuable in a campaign against the Sioux. The band 
organized by Major North under orders from General 



198 NORTH PLATTE AND 

Auger, were so thoroughly drilled as to understand 
what was required of them, and any command given 
by Major North was obeyed with alarcrity, for he 
spoke their language fluently. To show how they ap- 
peared on parade when showing themselves to advan- 
tage, it will be well to quote from the autobiography 
of W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) chief of scouts. 

*'The Pawnee scouts were also reviewed, and it 
was very amusing to see them in full regulation uni- 
form. They had been furnished regular cavalry uni- 
form, and on parade some of them had their heavy 
overcoats on (in summer) ; others their large black 
hats, with all the brass accoutrements attached; 
some of them wore pantaloons, and others only wore 
breech clouts. Others wore regulation pantaloons, 
but no shirts, and were bareheaded ; others again had 
the seat of their pantaloons cut out, leaving only leg- 
gings. Some wore brass spurs, but had neither boots 
nor moccasins. With all this melange of oddity, they 
understood the drill well for Indians. The com- 
mands of course, were given in their own language 
by Major North, who could talk it as well as any full 
blooded Pawnee." 

The Pawnees were bold and reckless in battle. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 199 

and performed numerous deeds of daring, and 
heroically endured hardship. On the other hand, the 
Sioux, although far from being cowards, were natur- 
al born thieves, desirous of securing property with- 
out trading or recompence. and to them, a majority 
of the depredations were traced. 



200 NORTH PLATTE AND 



CHAPTER XII. 

General Carr and command pursue Indians. — A 
sharp fight. — A decisive battle. — Indians run off 
horses. — The pursuit. — An Indian defeat. — Fort 
McPherson during the '70s. — The bugle call. — In- 
dians raid Mrs. Cody's kitchen. — Duke Alexis of 
Russia arrives at North Platte. — Goes with escort 
to hunt buffalo. — Buffalo Bill as guide. — Spotted 
Tail and his warriors. — Miles of buffalo. — A 
hunt. — The grand dinner. — Spotted Tail's speech. 

As reports of murders and depredations com- 
mitted by the Sioux came in, General Carr decided 
to go after them and administer chastisement, and 
started out in pursuit with several companies of 
troops and the band of Pawrsees just described. Buf- 
falo Bill and six Pawnee scouts set out to locate 
the horde, which they did on the extent of country 
between the Platte and Republican rivers; the Sioux 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 201 

numbering several hundred lodges. General Carr 
and his command folloAved slowly, keeping well in the 
rear, but after the lapse of some hours, Buffalo Bill 
was seen riding rapidly toward them to inform 
the general of his discovery, and the fact that the 
Sioux were all unconscious of their approach. The 
general marshalled his forces preparatory to the at- 
tack and approached the enemy at the double quick. 
The Sioux w^ere on the move towards the Platte river, 
but they no sooner discovered the near approach of 
the soldiers than they took to flight, leaving their 
baggage and everything that would impede a rapid 
march. To puzzle their pursuers, they scattered in 
small bands, striking out in different directions. The 
troops also separate.!, and ;n companies followed in 
the direction of the Platte river. Darkness coming 
on, they camped for the night, but early in the morn- 
ing, the troops were on the move, each company 
striking out on a different trail. One company came 
up with a band of one hundred Indians, who took to 
flight. After passing a short bend of the Platte riv- 
er, the tracks were observed to come together, and 
the several companies of soldiers also joined each oth- 
er at the spot. On the third day, Buffalo Bill's di- 



202 NORTH PLATTE AND 

vision discovered six hundred Sioux warriors near 
the Platte river. The soldiers sought to shelter 
themselves in the ravines, but there was plenty of 
time to make preparations, as the Indians seemed in 
no hurry to begin the attack. However, a simultan- 
eous assault was made by both sides, and a sharp 
fight followed, but the position of the soldiers being 
secure, the effort to dislodge them failed, and their 
loss was but slight. Many Indians were killed, and 
among them the famous Sioux chief, Tall Bull, Avho 
fell by the unerring aim of Buffalo Bill. 

This engagement was satisfactory so far, but in 
ten days after it, General Carr, with his entire com- 
mand started out in pursuit of the Sioux Indians 
again. The Scouts, led on by Buffalo Bill, struck a 
trail, and following it, the soldiers came up with the 
Sioux, who were in force, at a place called Summit 
Springs, on Sunday inorning, July 11, 1869. The In- 
dians at once put themselves on the defensive, but 
the soldiers attacked, and a battle was fought. 
There was much detarmination and bravery on both 
sides, and although the fight was of short duration, it 
was fiercely waged, and resulted in the utter defeat 
of the Sioux Indians. Many soldiers and Pawnees 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 203 

were killed, and more than six hundred Sioux fell, 
and among them were many of the bravest warriors. 
Several hundred squaws were made prisoners, and a 
large number of ponies captured. 

This engagement was practically the last en- 
counter between the United States troops and In- 
dians in this part of the country deserving the name 
of a battle. The crushing defeat practically ended 
war with the Indians, for it broke the spirit of the 
Sioux, who w^ere a restless horde and always at war 
with other tribes, and ended troubles along the line 
of the Union Pacific railroad in Nebraska. 

Although many depredations were committed af- 
terwards, they were confined to attacks on settlers, 
and to the stealing and running off of horses and 
cattle. Fear kept the Indians in subjection ever af- 
ter and any skirmishes that occurred were only of a 
nature common to an Indian country. 

During the spring of 1870, Indians raided a stock 
ranch near Fort McPherson and ran off twenty-one 
head of horses, and with them Buffalo BilUs fast run- 
ning horse, ''Powder Face." The fort being the base 
of military operations, the garrison was always 
ready to respond to the bugle call, and when this 



204 . NORTH PLATTE AND 

raid was made known to the eomiiiander, a compa- 
ny of cavalry was ordered out to pursue the raiders 
and capture the stolen horses. Buffalo Bill acted as 
guide and led the way to the southwest. They rode 
thirty miles the first day, and when nearing Medi- 
cine creek, where Bill thought the Indians would 
camp for the night, he called a halt, and went for- 
ward to reconnoiter. Finding the Indians where he 
supposed they would be, he rode back and brought 
the soldiers to a ravine near the creek the Indians 
could not very well learn of their presence, and as 
darkness was coming on, arrangements w^ere made to 
attack the camp before daylight next morning. Ac- 
cordingly, at early dawn, the cavalry rode into the 
Indian camp with a shout, and with pistols and sab- 
ers drawn. The Indians were completely taken by 
surprise and in no' shape to offer resistance, but they 
made a stand, and a short, sharp fight ensued, dur- 
ing which quite a number were killed, but they were 
soon put to flight, and being pressed by the cavalry, 
many were overtaken and slain. It is told that dur- 
ing the flight, Buffalo Bill brought down two In- 
dians with one shot. The stolen horses were recover- 
ed, but Bill's favorite horse ''Pow^der Face" was not 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 205 

among them, and although every effort was made to 
locate it, it was never found. 

Fort McPherson has many association, and tales 
of Indian raids, and conflicts with the military might 
be continued, but the atrocities narrated, will suffice. 

Mrs. W. F. Cody, so well known and respected 
in North Platte, lived for three years at Fort Mc- 
Pherson, coming there from St. Louis in November, 
1870. Her home was a typical log cabin built on 
the reservation outside the fort, and in it she experi- 
enced all the dangers and excitement of frontier gar- 
rison life. 

Although the worst days of Indian warfare in 
the locality had passed, there was no lack of excite- 
ment. Scouts were constantly coming and going, and 
unexpected visits from Pawnees and Sioux had to be 
guarded against. Frequent departure of garrison 
troops equipped for skirmish duty could be seen, 
and often the fort would be. thrown into confusion 
in the night time by the bugle call, and then would 
follow the hasty gathering of troops, and the quick 
sally out upon the dark prairie. The return too, 
was often saddened by the ranks being thinned, and 
many weak and weary after a long march, and fre- 



206 NORTH PLATTE AND 

quently many suffering from arrow wounds would 
be brought in. 

Even with all the routine of fort life, amusing 
incidents cropped up. Upon an occasion, Mr. Cody 
invited a number of personal friends from the east, 
and some officers of the fort to dinner. Mrs. Cody 
exerted herself to have as ample a feast as the limit- 
ed resources of the fort would permit; but great was 
her dismay, when after greeting her guests, she en- 
tered the kitchen and found a band of Sioux devour- 
ing the dinner with seeming relish. Her indignation 
was inexpressible, but the result was, the guests had 
to dine elsewhere. 

It was at Fort McPherson that ''Ned" Butline 
of dime novel fame, just from the east with silk hat 
and broadcloth, ''discovered" W. F. Cody, and by 
writing him up, introduced him to notoriety, wealth 
and fame as Buffalo Bill, a circumstance that did not 
only make the wild west show possible, but a success. 

A noteworthy association of Fort McPherson 
which must not be overlooked, is the grand buffalo 
hunt gotten up for the entertainment of the Grand 
Duke Alexis, of Russia, in which Buffalo Bill figur- 
ed as guide. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 207 

The duke and party arrived at North Platte by 
special train, about the middle of January, 1872, and 
were received by (Japtain Hays, Buffalo Bill, and 
Captain Egan, with a company of cavalry. General 
Sheridan introduced the duke to the leaders of the 
party, and Buffalo Bill tendered him the use of his 
celebrated horse, "Buckskin Joe.'^ 

General Palmer had established a camp for the 
occasion at Red Willow creek which consisted of two 
hospital tents, in which meals were served; ten wall 
tents and a tent for soldiers and servants. There 
was a stock of 10,000 rations each of flour, sugar 
coffee, to say nothing of wines, choice liquors and 
other beverages, and also a supply of 1,000 pounds 
of tobacco to be distributed amon*^ the Indians. 

General Sheridan had sent out two members of 
his staff, General Forsyth and Dr. Arsch, to visit 
Fort Mcpherson and make arrangements for the hunt. 
Buffalo Bill was appointed guide, and he made all 
due preparations, and General Forsyth and Dr. 
Arsch conceived the idea that it would prove a 
source of amusement and interest to the grand duke 
to induce a large number of Indians to participate 
in the hunt, and give an exhibition of their peculiar 
ceremonies and skill with the bow and arrow. 



208 NOKTH PLATTE AND 

That such an arrangement might be made, Buf- 
falo Bill visited the camp of Spotted Tail at Red 
Willow creek, and engaged one hundred of the lead- 
ing chiefs and warriors, and arranged with them to 
meet at the camp established for the occasion. 

As the grand duke seemed to be as much inter- 
ested in the Indians as the buffalo, General Sheri- 
dan had a tribe of Brules, consisting of fiftj^ war- 
riors and all the squaws and children of the tribe 
under command of Spotted Tail, moved bodily into 
camp, so that the guest might have an opportunity 
to study them at his leisure. 

From Fort McPherson, the party proceeded to 
the camp at Red Willow where arrangements were 
complete, and the Indians waiting. Spotted Tail was 
attired in a suit of ill-fitting government clothing, 
which made him uneasy, and showed how unused 
he was to the clothes of the white man; but upon 
being introduced to the grand duke, he extended his 
hand with the customary ''How." The exercises of 
the evening for the amusement of the duke, were 
samples of Indian horsemanship, lance throwing and 
bow-shooting. There was also a sham fight to illus- 
trate the Indian mode of warfare, and a war dance, 
in all of which Alexis took great interest. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 209 

While the fetes were in progress, General Cus- 
ter sent out scouts to look for buffalo, and about mid- 
night, it was reported that there was a herd within 
three miles. The duke was so elated at this, that 
he turned in, in joyful anticipation of coming sport, 
and was up in the morning when the cavalry bugle 
sounded reveille, and strolling round, found General 
Custer on the picket line, inspecting the horse he was 
expected to ride. 

Before breakfast was over, scouts came in and 
reported that the main herd was between the Red 
Willow and Medicin? creeks about fifteen miles from 
camp, and the order to mount was at once given. 

Before the start was made, however. General 
Custer announced the following rules for the chase: 
The first attack to be made by Alexis, accompanied 
by himself, Buffalo Bill and two Brule Indians, the 
main party to remain in the back-ground until the 
Grand Duke had made his first "kill," after which 
the hunt was to be open to all. An experienced buf- 
falo hunter was assigned to ride beside each mem- 
ber of the grand duke's suit, and to instruct him 
in the game of getting along side and killing a buf- 
falo. 



I 



210 NORTH PLATTE AND 

On the way out, Alexis asked General Custer a 
thousand questions, and practiced shooting at imagin- 
ary buffalo. His hunting costume consisted of 
heavy gray cloth trimmed with green, with buttons 
bearing the imperial arms of Russia, and an Australi- 
an turban. 

The herd of buffalo sighted, proved immense, and 
covered several square miles. The hunters approach- 
ed against the wind, and halted in a hollow ravine, 
within three-quarters of a mile of the nearest bisOn, 
acting as sentinel. The ravine afforded concealment 
for another half mile, and then it was an open rush, 
The grand duke, Custer and Buffalo Bill spurring 
their horses to the utmost, dashed out of the ravine, 
and went full tilt for the herd. Alexis had selected 
a big bull for his victim, and when within one hun- 
dred yards, fired, but missed. Buffalo Bill, who 
rode alongside of him, handed him his rifle, and with 
it, the duke brought doAvn the animal. 

A free-for-all chase began, and there was a wild 
rush of counts and cow-boys, troopers and Indians af- 
ter the stampeded herd. Alexis stopped long enough, 
however, to cut off the tail of his first victim as a 
trophy, and then joined the rest. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 211 

Luncheon was sm-ved in the field, and several 
Indian warriors armed with bows and arrows hung 
about and begged for the scraps of food left. Alexis 
was in a perfect wonderland, and among other things 
wanted to know why the Indians carried their an- 
cient weapons, and was told they preferred them 
to firearms for killing buffalo. Upon the duke expres- 
ing doubt. General Custer sent out two Brule bucks 
Avith orders to find a buffalo, run it into camp, and 
kill it with an arrow in presence of the grand duke. 
Within an hour, the Indians returned whooping and 
yelling, and chased a buffalo cow straight into camp, 
and there, Chief T\Vo Lance, circling swiftly to its 
left with bow full drawn, sent an arrow whizzing in- 
to its body behind the shoulder, piercing the heart, 
and coming out at the other side. The animal fell 
dead, and so delighted was the grand duke with the 
exhibition of skill that he gave Two Lance a twen- 
ty dollar gold piece, and afterwards as much more for 
the bow and quiver of arrows which he wished to 
preserve as a souvenir of the event. On the same 
day, the grand duke performed the rare feat of kill- 
ing a buffalo at one hundred paces distant, with a 
pistol shot. 



I 



212 NORTH PLATTE AND 

There was a grand dinner in camp that night, 
during which Spotted Tail related remarkable stories 
of the skill of Indians with the bow and arrow. 

Reminiscence of former hunts were recalled, and 
stories lost nothing by telling, as liberal libations of 
champagne and other drinks heightened imagina- 
tions. The hunt lasted one week, and is still fresh in 
the memory of old residents of North Platte. 

Such are a few of many associations that cluster 
round Fort McPherson. As we have seen, it was a 
place of military activity in days of yore, but the 
advance of civilization, and the cessation of Indian 
hostilities rendered it unnecessary, and in 1880 it was 
abandoned, and the buildings dismantled and dis- 
posed of. The flag staff that stood in the center of 
the parade ground was the initial point of the origin- 
al boundary lines of the military reserve, which was 
two miles east, two imiles west, one mile south, and 
three north. This land, with the exception of what 
had been set apart for a national cemetery, was sold 
for agricultural purposes, and in due time, the hus- 
bandman subdued the stubborn soil, and the prairie 
gave place to cultivated, well fenced fields, snug 
firm yards and comfortable dwelling houses. The 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 213 

village of Cottonwood Springs is now a memory, and 
crops are grown anmually on the site of Fort Mc- 
Pherson; and the Indian, the squaw, the trader, the 
trooper and the buffalo are dimly remembered by 
old residents of Lincoln county, and are now ranked 
among the traditions of the locality. 

The exact location of Fort McPherson's flag 
staff was long a source of dispute and inconvenience 
to surveyors, until excavation disclosed the cedar 
log socket, and the spot is now marked by a stone on 
which the letters "F. S." are cut. 



214 NORTH PLATTE AND 



C^HAPTER XIII. 
THE NATIONAL CEMETERY. 



The cemetery viewed from the gate. — System of 
marking graves — Grave of Spotted Horse. — Of 
Guss Hess. — Gratton Massacre memorial. — -Dead 
brought from many places. — Cemtery records 
and ■ superintentendents. — G. A. Haverfield. — Col. 
P. J. O'Rourke. 

An association of Fort McPherson, yes, and also 
of North Platte, is the National cemetery where the 
"star spangled banner" waves over the graves of 
United Stntes soldiers, who even in death are cared 
for by a generous government. This tree embowered 
cemetery is a prominent object on the landscape, 
and is no great distance from where the fort was sit- 
uated. 

On October 17, 873, a portion of Fort McPherson 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 215 

reservation amounting to 128 acres whs set apart 
for a National cemetery, and of this, four acres were 
enclosed by a brick wall, and within the enclosure a 
house for a superintendent was built. 

Soldiers who died at Fort ]\lcPherson were 
buried in a plot of groun»l on the face of the hill a 
little southeast of the entrance to Cottonwood can- 
yon, but when the National cemetery was made ready 
to receive the dead, these, and a few bodies of civ- 
ilians were exhumed and interred in the southeast 
section. 

Today, the scene is changed, and when the neat 
iron gate of the cemetery is entered, the eye rests 
on the substantial brick residence of the superin- 
tendent and gravel walk leading up to it. Beyond, 
are long rows of white headstones, uniform in appear- 
ance and size, that stud the green sward and mark 
graves of soldiers who nevermore shall answer the 
roll call, or be roused by the notes of the bugle. Nu- 
merous tall trees spread their foilage-laden branches 
and shade this ''eternal camping ground," and 
make the whole a scene of silven solitude. 

Close to the gate are two iron tablets with 
raised letters, on which is an extract from "An act 



216 NORTH PLATTE AND 

to establish and protect National cemeteries, ap- 
proved February 22, 1867." Section third, is given, 
which states, that ''Any person who shall willfully de 
stroy, mutilate, deface, injure, or remove any monu- 
ment, gravestone, or other structure, or shall will- 
fully destroy, cut, break, injure, or remove any tree, 
shrub, or plant within the limits of any National 
cemetery shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, 
and upon conviction thereof before any district or 
circuit court of the United States, shall be liable to 
a fine of not less than twenty-five, nor more than one 
hundred dollars, or imprisonment oi not less than fif- 
teen, nor more than sixty days, according to the na- 
ture and aggravation of the offense." 

Close by these tablets is one giving an extract 
from General Order No. 80, September 1, 1876, for- 
bidding the desecration of soldiers' graves by picnic 
parties in a national cemetery, by vending refresh- 
ments therein, and stating emphatically that such a 
practice will not be allowed in any national cemetery. 

A little farthur on, on the south side of the walk, 
is another tablet bearing the following verse: 

''Rest on embalmed and sainted dead, 
Dear as the blood ye gave. 
No impious footsteps here shall tread 
The herbage of your grave." 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 217. 

On the south wall of the superintendent's resi- 
dence is a large tablet bearing a long extract from 
the address of President Lincoln, at the dedication 
of the Gettysburg National cemetery, November 19, 
1863, which every patriotic American knows or ought 
to know. 

It is saddening to wander through this well kept 
burying place and reflet that 

''Where the blades of the green grass quiver, 

Asleep are the ranks of the dead" 
silently fulfilling the immutable decree that pro- 
nounces man to be dust, and that to dust he shall re- 
turn. 

There are few stones erected by private individu- 
als to the memory of loved ones, but stones furnish- 
ed by the government to mark the graves of the 
known and unknown dead are numerous. Those to 
the memory of the known simply bear the name of 
the soldier, date of death, and the regiment he served 
m, and the number of the grave he occupies; but 
stones marking the graves of the unl^nown are less 
pretentious, and bear nothing more than the num- 
ber of the grave, so they slumber on, all unknowing 
and unknown ''to dumb forgetfulness a prey." 



218 NORTH PLATTE AND 

A stone, numbered 258, marks the grave of the 
Indian Chief Spotted Horse. He had a weakness for 
collecting the scalps of white men in the days of his 
youth, and got a few, but now he rests with the pale 
face, and his war whoop is silenced forever. 

Near the grave of Spotted Horse is that of Gus 
Hess, one of North Platte's early citizens, whose fig- 
ure, until recently, was familiar as he walked slowly 
along, leaning on his staff. He was proud of having 
*'seen service'' and talked entertainingly of his ex- 
perience; he did his duty, and his life was blameless. 
The small stone at the head of his grave, is inscribed, 
''816, Gustavus Hess, Neb." That is all. 

There is a square block of white marble resting 
on a pedestal, dedicated to the memory of the enlist- 
ed men. Company G, Sixth Infantry, killed in action 
near Fort Laramie, Wyoming (Gratton massacre) 
August 19th, 1854. 

On three sides of this massive memorial the 
names of twenty-eight soldiers who fell are inscribed. 

The bodies of these men were buried nine miles 
east of Fort Laramie at the place where they were 
killed, but were exhumed in 1888, and brought to 
this cemetery and are interred round the base of 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 219 

the memorial. About the same time, the bodies of 
Indian chief, American Horse and his wife and chil- 
dren, prepared according to Indian custom and 
placed on a scaffolding of poles some twelve feet 
high, that braved the blast for many years in an old 
burying-pla( e near the site of Fort Laramie, where 
many soldiers were buried, were interred in this 
cemetery. 

Altogether, accor'ding to Capt. B. F. Baker, a 
former superintendent, referred to further on, 109 
bodies of soldiers were brought from Fort Laramie 
and interred, and other military posts have consigned 
dead to its keeping. He credits Fort Bridger, Wyom- 
ing, with twenty-five bodies, Fort Fred Steel, with 
sixty-three. Fort Hale, S. D., with forty-two, Fort 
Sidney with nine, and during the superintendency of 
Col. O'Rourke, some 200 bodies were brought from 
Fort Kearney, and several from Fort Fetterman, and 
the bodies of fifteen soldiers drowned in Box 
Elder canyon by a flood of water resulting from a 
cloud burst were interred. The remains from Fort 
Kearney were mostly of men slaughtered by Indians 
in a never-to-be forgotten massacre. The fact is, 
Fort McPherson National cemetery, has been, and 



220 NORTH PLATTE AND 

will be a receptacle for the soldier dead of many 
places. 

It is estimated tliat up to the close of 1910, 848 
soldiers were laid away under the green sward of 
this cemetery, 487 known, and 361 unknown. 

Access to the cemetery records can be had at 
the office of the superintendent, but they are^ of no 
great interest, although much regarding the ceme- 
tery's history may be gleaned from them. Inter- 
ments are carefully recorded, and the grave of any 
''known" soldier can be easily located, but the en- 
tries are brief, the name of the soldier, the regiment 
he served in, the date of his death and the number 
of the grave is all that is registered. 

Two books contain copies of letters, mostly of a 
business nature, but here and there are entries of in- 
terest. 

A George Griffen seems to have been the first 
superintenc'ont of the cemetery, and was succeeded 
by a John Ridgely, who entered upon the duties, Jan- 
uary 30, 1874, and served until February 10, 1874. A 
Thomas Mulaeny next took hold and served from 
February 10, 1874, until June 14, 1876. He was suc- 
ceeded by a battle-scarred veteran named George A. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 221 

Haverfield, who was appointed, June 14, 1876, and 
served until August 15, 1877. He had served in the 
126th regiment, Ohio Volunteers, and went through 
all the various marches and battles in which it bore 
an honorable part. He was severely wounded sever- 
al times, but was not knocked out until he lost a leg 
in one of the hard fought battles of the Civil war. 

This man had a well stored memory, and narrated 
in a graphic manner, events in which he took part 
during the great struggle. 

Col. P. J. O'Rourke succeeded Mr. Haverfield, 
and entered upon the duties of superintendent, 
August 15, 1877, and served, the record states, up to 
January 20, 1885, or until the time of his death. 
His son, Mr. J.J. O'Rourke of Brady, performed the 
duties of the office for ten months before a successor 
to his father was appointed. 

Col. O'Rourke was born in the city of Cork, Ire- 
land, in 1814, and when a young man went to Eng- 
land, and married Miss Mary Hodgson, at Bolton, 
Lankashire, in 1838. He and his young wife came to 
this country and settled in Lancaster county, Penn- 
sylvania. He enlisted in 1861, and served continuous- 
ly until the close of the Civil war He was captain 



222 NORTH PLATTE AND 

of Company E, first regiment of Pennsylvania Re- 
serves, and was brevetted major for gallantry at the 
battle of Fredricksburg, and was afterwards brevet- 
ted lieutenant-colonel for ''gallant and meritorious 
services during the war;" so reads the commission. 
He was with the army of the Potomac, and was in 
all the great battles during the war, and was severe- 
ly wounded at the battle of Gettysburg. He experi- 
enced much hardship and suffering, and when gen- 
tle peace returned, was honorably discharged, and 
retired to private life. His name is in the list of 
heroes on the soldiers' monument at Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania. A gun and sword captured during 
a skirmish at Gettysburg are kept and highly prized 
by the O'Rourke family. 

On November 4, 1885, Captain Benjamin F. Baker 
relieved Mr. J. J. O'Rourke, and discharged the du- 
ties of the office until February 12, 1892. 

Captain Baker has materially aided with in- 
1'ormation regarding the cemetery, and the enumera- 
tion on a previous page, of re-interments by him, of 
bodies of soldiers sent from various forts is valuable. 
The office seemingly, was no sinecure, for he states 
that during 1890, he interred over 300 bodies of sol- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 223 

diers sent from various places, and that 344 inter- 
ments had been made when he took charge. 

A record, or even jottings of Captain Baker's 
experience while carrying arms in defense of his 
country would make interesting reading, but being of 
a retiring disposition, he sums up the whole by the 
statement that his record is the same as thousands of 
others. 

Captain Benjamin F. Baker was born and raised 
in tlie state of Maine, and coming to Illinois in 1852 
enlisted in Company D, 72nd Illinois Infantry, August 
9, 1862. He was commissioned captain of Company 
H, 3rd heavy artillery, April 20, 1864, and was mus- 
tered out, May 1, 1876. He saw much active service, 
and experienced many of the hardships incident to 
that campaign, yet, with all, he was never seriously 
ill, and now enjoys a serene old age at ^Maxwell, Ne- 
braska. 

George W. Allen succeeded Captain Baker as 
superintendent of the cemetery, and entered upon 
the duties, February 12, 1892. and on October 10, 
1895, was relieved by Ludwig Baege. Mr. L. H. Dow 
succeeded Baege August 6, 1897, and discharged the 
duties of the office until May 23, 1904. 



224 NORTH PLATTE AND 

Mr. L. H. Dow was born in the town of York- 
shire, Caldrauqus county, New York, October 19, 
1838, and in early manhood drifted to Beaver Dam, 
Wisconsin, and married. He enlisted in Company D, 
19th Wisconsin Infantry, September 23_, 1861 and was 
afterwards transferred to Co. I, 11th Veteran Re- 
serve Corps, June, 1864, and discharged from serv- 
ice, November 20. 1865. 

Judging by the neat appearance of the cemetery, 
Mr. E. T. Ingle, the present superintendent, appointed 
November 1, 1909, fills the office with ability. He 
was born at Memphis, Tennessee, August 3, 1847, 
and enlisted in Company A, 11th Kansas Cavalry at 
Fort Leavensworth, Kansas, August 18, 1862, and was 
mustered out October 26, 1865. He saw service in 
the famous General Blunt campaign in Arkansas, 
and afterwards in Missouri Guerella warfare for ov- 
er a year on the Kansas-Missouri line. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS !825 



CHAPTER XIV. 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 



Life sketches of James Belton, Dr. F. H. Longley, 
Dr. Nicholas MeCabe, George W. Vronian, John 
Bratt and C. F. Tracy. 



A tradition in the Belton family is, that their 
ancestors went from England to Ireland with Crom- 
well and settled there. Be that as it may, it is cer- 
tain that his father and mother came from Ireland 
to America, and that he was born at Sangerties, New 
York, on June 27, 1831. He attended the public school 
at Sundusky, Ohio, until 15 years old, and went to 
Buffalo, New York, to serve an apprenticeship to the 
trade of a coppersmith. At its completion, the money 
panic of 1857 had paralyzed business, and to better 
his fortune he started for New Orleans, but stopping 
off at New Albany, Indiana, circumstances in- 



226 NORTH PLATTE AND 

duced him to remain for several years. There he mar- 
ried Caroline Graham, a school teacher. A happy 
marriage makes a harmonious home, and Mr. Belton's 
was a model in this respect, for a cross word was never 
heard within it, and two daughters grew to woman- 
hood amid pleasant surroundings, but sorrow came, 
for after a married life of forty-six years, Mrs. Bel- 
ton died June 22, 1906, and the radiance of the home 
subsided. 

His daughter Mary married William McDonald, 
cashier of McDonald State Bank, who is supposed to 
have been the first white child born in Lincoln Coun- 
ty. 

Mr. Belton cam- to North Platte in May, 1869, 
and entered the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad 
Company as foreman of the copper shop, and held 
the position for five years. In 1870, he went into the 
hardware business, and in 1871 was elected county 
clerk, and held the office over four years, and dur- 
ing the time he did not charge anything for record- 
ing deeds, mortgages or taking acknowledgements, 
with the exception of the cases of Thomas Keliher 
and James Fraser, and that was owing to time occu- 
pied going to their farms to take acknowledgements. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 227 

Mr. Belton was director of the city schools for 
over seven years, and showed his liberalism by ignor- 
ing all religious prejudice, and making ability to 
teach, the only qualification. 

In 1878 he was elected mayor when the city was 
heavily in debt, but under his management, rigid 
economy, and a levy of five mills for current ex- 
penses, and two and one-half to pay off the debt, 
straightened out the affairs of the city, and two and 
one-half mills were returned to the taxpayers. When 
his term of office expired, all obligations were can- 
celled. It may be added, that ho liberally donated 
his salary for services as mayor, to the city. 

In 1889, Mr. Belton ran for the office of county 
commissioner and was elected, his object being to 
have county business conducted according to law; as, 
at that time, things were in a somewhat complicated 
condition. Mr. Belton labored for reform, and ulti- 
mately, had the satisfaction of knowing that the su- 
preme court decided that hi.s way of settling with the 
county treasurer was correct, and all counties have 
settled in that way since. 

Mr. Belton has been a m.ember of the Presbyteri- 
an church for over fifty years. He retired from ac-, 



228 



NORTH PLATTE AND 



tive business August 1, 1900, but continues to take 
deep interest in the affairs of the city, and every- 
thing tending to better social conditions. 



DR. P. H. LONGLEY. 
It is needless to apologize for enumerating Dr. F. 




H. Longley among the pioneer citizens who materially 
aided in the upbuilding and development of our city. 
He is the oldest resident physician, and probably 
the oldest physician and surgeon in the state of Ne- 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 229 

braska, as he came to Omaha on the 1st of March, 
1867, the day the state was admitted into the union. 
He went to Blair and practiced for a time, but upon 
his appointment to become the first receiver at the 
United States land office at North Platte, in 1872, he 
came to the city and assumed the duties of the of- 
fice. North Platte was then little more than a strag- 
gling village with three stores and many saloons. 
One of the stores was owned by Charles McDonald, 
who had recently left Cottonwood Springs and be- 
come a citizen; the other by Foley and Center, and 
the third by Otto Uhley. The northern portion of 
Spruce street (now Dewey) and Front street, from 
Pine to the military post was the business section, 
and they who built dwellings did so as near as pos- 
sible to these thorough-fares. The north side had 
less than a half dozen houses ; and the numerous 
sloughs by which it was interspersed, were the haunt 
of ducks and other aquantic birds, and a hunting 
ground for youths oS the city. The late Dr. F. N. 
Dick was the popular physician, the pioneer drug 
store was that of McLucas and Dick, and the old log 
school house was the temple of learning. Such is a 
glimpse of the city when Dr. Longley arrived. He 



I 



230 NORTH PLATTE AND 

he'd the ret;eivership of the land office for three 
years, and resigned to devote his whole tnne to the 
practice of his profession, having gained a reputation 
for efficiency and skill. Hi is noiv chairman of com- 
missioners of insanity, coroner of Lincoln county, 
and president of Lincoln County Medical society; 
and member of the State Medical association. 

He has been financially successful and owns con- 
siderable property in the city and vicinity, and on 
the whole, has secured a. competency that enables 
hi'i; to enjoy a well earnf^d leisure. 

Dr. Longley is a native of Bingham, Somerset 
county, Maine. He began the study of medicine in 
Gardener, that state with Dr. Stephen Whitmore and 
took his first course at Bowdoin Medical college, in 
Brunswick, Maine, and graduated from the Eclectic 
Medical Institute at Cincdnnati in February 1867 ; 
and also from the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons at Keokuk, Towa, in 1875. 

DR. NICHOLAS McCABE. 
Dr. Nicholas McCabe, in point of residence, is the 
second oldest physi-cian in the city, and on this ac- 
count, is entitled to a place in thes6 annals, were it 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 231 

for nothing more tlian the conmiendable interest he 
has taken in local affairs, and every public enter- 
prise tending to advance the interests of the com- 
munity. 

He came to town in 1886, and began the prac- 
tice of medicine under anything but favorable circum- 
stances, for the population was under 3,000, and there 
were at least four resident physicians and about as 
many drug stoies stocked with patent medicines. At 
first, recognition was slow, hut he gradualy built up 
a practice, and in course of time his proficiency in 
physics and surj^ery was i*ecognized, and he was se- 
lected for surgeon at this point for the Union Pacific 
railway employees. He has held the office for over 
twelve years and envoys the confidence and esteem of 
the workmen. 

His fine home and other possessions show that he 
has been financially successful, and that wise invest- 
ments have secured for him a comfortable competen- 
cy. 

In politics, the doctor is a straight Democrat, 
and although devoted to his profession, takes deep in- 
terest in national and local politics. He discharged 
the duties of coroner for two years, and in 1906 was 



232 NORTH PLATTE AND 

elected mayor of the city, being an advocate of muni- 
ciple ownership, and of the city owning waterworks. 
Like most public men, he had enemies; but despite 
their artifices, he was re-elected three consecutive 
times, and the last time, by a majority of two to one, 
in the face of bitter and unwarranted attacks upon 
his private character and official administration. 

To judge by a well stocked library in his office, 
replete with modern literature and up-to-date medic- 
al works, it is evident he keeps abreast of his pro- 
fession and in touch with the latest scientific develop- 
ments. The works in his home library treating on a 
variety of subjects also show that he is broad- 
minded and liberal, and an earnest investigator. 

The subject of tliis sketch wa«^ born at Dunleer, 
County Louth, Ireland, in 1854, and received a public 
school education, but in early manhood, he acquired a 
longing to go to the United States, the land of the 
free, where so many of his countrymen had, and 
were finding homes; so one day, from the deck of a 
vessel, he watched his native land recede from sight. 
Tn due time he arrived in New York to begin life as 
tens of thousands had done before him. He secured 
a position in the shipping department of a mercantile 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 233 

firm at Batavia, New York, but soon thereafter en- 
tered St. Joseph's college, Buffalo, N. Y., and com- 
pleted his preliminary education, after which he en- 
tered the medical department of the University of 
Buffalo, and from it received the decree of M. D. 



JOHN BRATT 
was born at Leek, Staffordshire, England, August 
9, 1842. He came to America in June, 1864, and en- 
gaged in business in Chicai^o until October, 1865, when 
lie invested his all in merchandise and took passage 
on the steamship "Victor" for New Orleans. The 
vessel was wrecked, and he lost everything in the Gulf 
of Mexico, but fortunately was rescued by the "Ala- 
bama," a merchantman loaded with cotton from New 
Orleans to New York where he and other passengers 
of the "Victor" we -e landed. Later, almost penni- 
less and without friends, he took passage on the 
"Morning Star" for New Orleans where for some 
eleven weeks he was unable to obtain employment, 
and consequently, few meals. He finally secured "a 
job" on the levee at Morganzie, near the mouth of 
Red River, which was being constructed. In the 
spring of the following year he came to Nebraska 



234 NORTH PLATTE AND 

City and hired out as buUwhacker and drove an ox 
team to Fourth County post, afterwards called Fort 
Phil Kearney, which fort he helped to erect, hauling 
logs, wood and hay for the stockade. With others, he 
planned to go to the placer gold mines in the Galla- 
tine Valley, but Col. Carrington, the commander, 
would not allow so small an outfit to attempt cross- 
ing the Big Horn mountain, as the hostility of the 
Sioux Indians under Red Cloud and other chiefs was 
so rampant, that a force of less than two hundred 
men could not safely do so. The expedition was 
abandoned; but a strange foreboding of calamity in- 
duced Mr. Bratt to leave Fort Phil Kearny that win- 
ter and proceed to Fort Mitchell, Strange to relate, 
his two partners, Kellog and Fisher, who remained, 
were killed in the Phil Kearney massacre. Pie re- 
mained at Fort Mitchell until August, 1867, part of 
the time in charge of that noted road ranch and stage 
station, and was often detailed to carry messages be- 
tween Fort Mitchel and Laramie, a fifty-five mile 
ride (usually by night) in case of stage coaches be- 
ing waylaid by hostile Indians who frequently cut 
the telegraph wires. Coe and Carter relieved him at 
Fort Mitchel ranch, and sent him to Pine Bluffs to 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 235 

take charge of an ox train that hauled ties, logs and 
wood for the Union Pacific and the government. In 
the fall of 1867, he was sent with an ox train, loaded 
with corn, to Fort Sanders. He afterwards opened 
a tie and wood camp near Fort Sanders, and gave 
employment to several hundred tie and wood choppers 
Later, he opened tie and wood camps at Sherman 
station and Tie Siding, and filled a tie contract 
for the Denver Pacific railroad, floating the ties 
down the Cache La Poudre. In the summer of 1869, 
he went to Fort McPhersor-, and filled a 3300 ton 
hay contract for Gilman and Carter, and went into 
the cattle business that fall with Coe and Carter un- 
der the firm name of John Bratt & Company, being 
the first firm in Lincoln county to drive cattle from 
Texas for breeding purposes. He followed the cattle 
business for some twenty-five years, and assisted in 
organizing Frontier county, being one of its first 
county commissioners, combining with it the office 
of deputy county treasurer. Mr. Bratt was active 
in organizing the North Platte Guards for home pro- 
tection, Major North of Pawnee Indian fame being 
captain, Mr. Bratt, first lieutenant and Frank Alex- 
ander, second lieutenant. He led the fight with the 



236 NORTH PLATTE AND 

Indians on the east Birdwood creek in the winter of 
1878, and has held several county and city offices, 
having been mayor of North Platte two terms. Al- 
though bordering on three score years and ten, he is 
still alert and active, and leads a busy life. He con- 
templates publishing his autobiogrfiphy, and as it is 
racily written and abounding with fmcedotes of early 
driy western life, it c^^nnot tail to be a vahiable ad- 
dition to Nebraska literature. 



GEORGE W. VROMAN 

being a worthy pioneer citizen of North Platte, and a 




prominent railroader, is given a place here. Born at 
Fitchburg, Wisconsin, September 27, 1841, he was 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 237 

sent to school at the age of 1, and at 17 entered the 
academy at Albion, Wisconsin, and attended for one 
year. In 1859 he took one term at Wisconsin State 
University, but having a taste for mechanics, he went 
to Lafayette, Indiana, December, 1861, and secured a 
position as fireman on the Wabash railroad. In the 
summer of 1863, he was promoted to engineer, and in 
the fall took charge of the round house at state line 
between Indiana and Illinois and held the position 
one year. Resigning, January, 1869, he proceeded to 
North Platte to run an engine on the Union Pacific 
railroad. He ran freight until the latter part of 1870, 
and was assigned a regular passenger run. In 1881 
he was appointed general foreman of the North 
Platte shops, and held the position until May, 1884, 
when he resigned and resumed the occupation of loco- 
motive engineer. 

Mr. Vroman became a member of the Brother- 
hood of Locomotive Engineers in June, 1865. In 1877 
he organized a committee of adjustment for the set- 
tlement of grievances, and was elected general chair- 
man of the brotherhood, and filled the position up to 
the close of 1906. Having reached the age limit es- 
tablished by the Union Pacific Railway company, he 
was retired, March 31, 1908. 



238 NORTH PLATTE AND 

Although Mr. Vroman never met any serious mis- 
hap during his thirty/-nine years of service, yet life 
on the rail with him was not without incident. In 
1877, while coming east with the Overland express, 
the train was stopped by a gang of robbers who se- 
cured $60,000 in gold, and $1,000 in currency from 
the safe, and $2,000, and five gold watches from pas- 
sengers. Mr. Vroman and his fireman were attended 
to by an armed bandit, and the train crew was kept 
together and guarded by others while the looting of 
the express car was in progress. Four days after the 
robbery, two of the bandits were traced to near Buf- 
falo station, Kansas, by a sheriff's posse, and upon re- 
sistance, shot down. $1,000 in gold and currency 
was found on their persons. A third was mortally 
wounded near his farm house and a fourth was shot 
in Texas. A fifth was arrested and lodged in jail, 
and Avhile awaiting trial, escaped, stole a horse, rode 
off, and was never heard of. 



C. F. TRACY 
in point of service, is the oldest locomotive engineer 
at North Platte at this date, having been forty-one 
years in the employ of the Union Pacific company. 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 239 

Mr. Tracy was born at Port Kent, New York, 
June 13, 1851. Owin^ to the death of his father, he 
was thrown on his own resources and at the early 
age of 13 started the battle of life as clerk in a gro- 
cery store. Being desirous of an opportunity to run 
an engine, he secured a situation in the engine room 
of a ferry boat on historic Lake Champlain, running 




between Plattsburg, New York, and St. Albans Bay, 
Vermont. With him, circumstances were adverse, 
yet favorable, for the boat ran aground one summer 
night, and the next day a storm came up and left it 
a total wreck, and the youthful Tracy without a job. 
The engineer of the boat had taken an interest in him, 
and knowing of his ambition to become an engineer, 



240 NORTH PLATTE AND 

wrote a friend who was running a locomotive be- 
tween North Platte and Sidney, to find him a job 
as fireman. He was successful, and Mr. Tracy turned 
his face westward, and arrived at North Platte on 
the night of September 8, 1869. Next day, he was 
hired by the late David Day, who was round house 
foreman, and made his first trip as fireman with 
Engineer Hedding. In 1872, John P. Marston, master 
mechanic, was succeeded by J. H. McConnell, and Mr. 
Tracy was the first fireman promoted by him. Mr. 
Tracy made his firf-t trip as engineer on an engine 
bearing the unlucky number 13, with Charley Hall 
as fireman, and got safely through. 

Mr. Tracy's railroad experience is not without 
incident. In the spring of 1870, the engine he was 
firing ran into a washout near Chappell, and turn- 
ed over with some thirty cars on top of it. His limbs 
were caught between the boiler-brace and seat box, 
and when found, pinch bars had to be used to free 
him, and it was three months before he could walk 
without crutches. Strange to relate, Mr. Tracy met 
with a similar accident at the same place, twenty-five 
years after this mishap. 

With the above sketches, the author bids the 



ITS ASSOCIATIONS 241 

reader adieu. Materials for a work of this kind are 
by no means plentiful, but facts and incidents have 
been carefully gleaned and rescued from oblivion, 
and glimpses of the own in early days given. Of 
course North Platte never ( ould boast of raids and 
battles, but nevertheless. Avith the advancement of 
eastern civilization, it has kept in the van, and its bat- 
tles and victories have been those of industry and 
commerce. 

The End 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. 

Nebraska becomes a territory 6 

Breaking ground for the U. P. Railway 8 

First locomotives and engineers 13 

Perils of track laying 16 

11. 

First house in North Platte 20 

Construction camp . followers 24 

U. P. shops and round house built 27 

North Platte becomes the county seat 36 

County Commissioner proceedings 38 

Log school house and teachers 47 

IV. 

Log jail built — Its associations .51 

First church in town 57 

South Platte bridge built 59 

Robbery and Lynch law 66 



CHAPTER PAGE 

V. 

Indians steal horses 69 

The Kate Manning murder 71 

Brick making introduced 75 

The Unitarian hall and Mrs. Cogswell 92 

The Catholic Church and its pastors 95 

VI. 

First mayor and city council 100 

Presbyterian Church history 108 

Brick making attempted Ill 

Methodist Church built 112 

VII 

The city in 1884 129 

Lutheran Church history 125 

North Platte pioneers meet 129 

Electric lighting introduced 130 

VIII. 

The city fire of '93 132 

North Platte Spanish War volunteers 137 

City Schools 142 

IX. 

Gleanings from the school records 145 

The U. P. railway strike 159 



CHAPTER PAGE 

X. 

Masonic Temple built and dedicated .......... . .173 

History of Platte Valley Lodge No. 32 177 

XI. 

Cottonwood Springs and associations. 183 

Fort McPherson built and garrisoned 190 

XII 

Indian hostilities 201 

Duke Alexis buffalo hunt 207 

XIII. 

The National Cemetery 214 

Soldiers' graves 216 

XIV. 

Sketches of James Belton, John Bratt. 

Dr. Longley, Dr. McCabe, G. Vroman, . 

and C. F. Tracy 225 



nrc^4 mm 



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One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



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